Phu Quoc to become Vietnam’s first smart city

Pham Duc Long, general director of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT), said the corporation has completed the first phase of the Phu Quoc Smart City Project with the upgrading of e-government software and installment of cameras at designated points to manage security.
It has also finished installing wireless broadcasting equipment in tourist sites under the Smart Wifi project, deploying an accommodation management software for hotels and guest houses.
The e-government system has linked administrations from the commune to the provincial level, helping people and enterprises in the district complete administrative procedures online to get licenses or register their businesses.

Phu Quoc is one of Vietnam’s most attractive destinations.

According to Long, each resident will have a unique electronic account to deal with governments at all levels early.
Four air monitoring stations and one water source observation station have been deployed in the island district. The environment monitoring system will collect, process, analyze and deliver real-time data to alert users on air and water contamination, and provide recommendations on how to respond.
The VNPT also has built a safe city solution with many mobile applications that will help people report incidents (accidents, theft, acts of violating urban security) to management agencies and also help the latter respond quickly.
To manage and operate the above-mentioned systems, Phu Quoc has built a centralized operation centre tasked with receiving complaints from citizens, visitors and organizations; improving traffic safety, co-ordinating emergency responses and performing other important functions.
Long believed that the operation of centralized centre will make an important contribution to enhancing the district’s management efficiency as well as the quality of service provided to people and businesses. This, in turn, will contribute to delivering convenience, comfort and safety to visitors who come to Phu Quoc.
Applauding VNPT’s efforts in helping building a smart city, Mai Van Huynh, deputy chairman of the Kien Giang People’s Committee, called for concerted efforts to ensure that the project is completed in time.
The corporation has announced that in the project’s second phase, it would implement highly sophisticated platform systems like the Internet of Things.
The VND67 billion (US$2.9 million) project to make Phu Quoc a smart city by 2020 was approved by the Kien Giang Province People’s Committee in April this year.
Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s largest island, covering an area of nearly 600 square kilometers with a population of over 100,000 people.
Smart city is currently a global trend which many countries' governments are investing to upgrading living standard of people there, in order to increase activities and cut expense, cut off the impact of environment. In 2013, there are about 20 smart cities in the world and estimated in 2025 the number will increase by 4 times./.