Following a government resolution on administrative procedure reform and the province's 2024 digital transformation plan, BR-VT Smart was launched on April 25.

Four months since the app's launch, BR-VT Smart has received an enthusiastic response from the public, thanks to its useful features and ease of use for all subjects and age groups. The app now has nearly 100,000 users and has generated around 120,000 visits.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is focusing on accelerating the digital transformation of public services in 2024 and the future

Talking about the development of the app, Do Huu Hien, director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Department of Information and Communications, said the platform must become an integrated popular application, minimising registration, login, and information entry steps, and directly connecting with the provincial public service portal.

For searching, proposing, and analysing solutions, Ba Ria-Vung Tau found that Zalo is currently the leading messaging/social networking application on phones, widespread among the majority of the Vietnamese population with over 76 million users.

With a large user base and the practical manner that provinces and government agencies have deployed mini apps, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province expects Zalo's digital technology platform to solve technological limitations in the process of developing a smart city amid the digital transformation trend in the locality.

"The launch of the BR-VT Smart mini app on the Zalo platform aims to guide citizens and businesses through administrative procedures, and give them access to online public services; thereby enhancing support and improving the quality of life of the people as well as the development of local businesses," Hien said.

After four months of operation, the BR-VT Smart mini app has already had close to 100,000 users, generating nearly 120,000 visits

As expected, the development of the BR-VT Smart mini app on Zalo has helped improve the quality of public services in the province. The government can now quickly gather information from the public, provide timely responses to questions, and quickly handle procedures. At the same time, the people can also save time travelling, researching information, and preparing documents thanks to the integrated steps and operations on the app.

Through the application of Zalo, Ba Ria-Vung Tau People's Committee has developed public service features such as online document submission, direct document searches, online payments, and the province's hotline. In addition, the province has also expanded administrative utility features on the app, such as development proposals for the province, public reception schedules, planning information, land information, power outage schedules, and employment information.

Citizens only need to enter the keyword "BR-VT Smart" in the search bar, then select the BR-VT Smart mini app in the search results to use the necessary utilities and features or to access updated local news.

The features and utilities are suitable for all subjects, all age groups, and for general labourers to middle-aged and elderly people. The integration of the mini app on Zalo also saves storage space for people using low-cost and low-capacity smartphones. This part of the People's Committee's efforts to ensure that no citizen is left behind during the digital transformation revolution.

The development and launch of the BR-VT Smart mini app on Zalo shows that Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is focusing on accelerating the digital transformation of public services in 2024 and beyond.

According to statistics, there are about 15,700 official accounts run by government agencies on Zalo, and about 350 mini apps with over 5.6 million users just a year after Zalo launched this service for government agencies and public utilities.