Part 1: Plan on smart urban infrastructure development

In the period of 2021-2025, Binh Duong province clearly determined that its smart city project will be specially invested and developed for breakthrough. The project continues maintaining its big goals set out, while focusing on planning and building smart urban infrastructure facilities, creating a motivation for strong development in the new period.

Basic foundation

In the context of the 4th industrial revolution, Binh Duong province in 2016 cooperated with Holland’s Eindhoven city to implement the smart city project towards high-tech manufacture and services, a dynamic, creative, worth-living city. With the Triple Helix model, putting people and knowledge as the center, taking cooperation and connection as the motto, promoting innovation, the project strongly contributed to the great development of the province over the past time, thereby bringing the province to a new position in the international arena.

Building a smart city in the new era, Binh Duong focuses on developing smart urban infrastructure, creating a driving force for the local strong development. In picture: The My Phuoc - Tan Van expressway is  one of the local main roads

In February 2021, the World Smart Community Forum (ICF) announced the list of 21 localities and regions with the world's typical smart city development strategies (Smart21). Binh Duong - the only representative of Vietnam –was named in the Smart21 list, for the third time in a row, affirming the province’s correct direction in smart city development, in accordance with the Resolution of the 11th provincial Party Congress for the 2021-2025 tenure and the world’s trends.

Currently, Binh Duong is implementing its  development plan, which will integrate the contents of smart urban development. It is expected that after the plan is approved, Binh Duong will develop and adjust plans on urban development and construction in association with the smart city development project ratified. Over the past years, the planning, implementation of inter-regional traffic works such as Highway 13, DT741, DT744, My Phuoc - Tan Van... ensured synchronous traffic infrastructure connection between Binh Duong and localities in the Southern key economic region, serving the local socio-economic development.

In the field of traffic- transportation, Binh Duong has deployed the Becamex Tokyu bus system using clean fuel (CNG gas) with non-stop automatic toll collection on Highway 13. The province has also established a project on the development of traffic infrastructure and Binh Duong new city- Suoi Tien rapid bus route (BRT). The BRT route will connect the urban areas of Di An, Thuan An, Thu Dau Mot, Binh Duong new city  with Ho Chi Minh city, contributing to the increase in the number of people using the Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien), promoting the use of public traffic system and being the basis to extend the Metro Line 1 towards Binh Duong.

In particular, in 2019, provincial complex project in Binh Duong new city met criteria to join the World Trade Center Association and was recognized as the World Trade Center Binh Duong new city (WTC BDNC). This is a strategic turning point, creating the basis for breakthrough in the province's international trade and services. Being step by step planned in the Smart City Project, the center will strongly contribute to the building of a great and prestigious brand name of Binh Duong, be seen as a symbolic work, increasing the value for the region, becoming a center for global trade integration service, attracting partners, investors, intellectual human resources, creating conditions for the formation of an international trade ecosystem, connecting trade activities of the whole region.

In 2020, provincial Party Committee approved the Project on "Binh Duong Innovation Zone. The Binh Duong Innovation Zone is expanded from the Smart Zone as planned in the Smart City project in the period 2016-2020, is the focus of the project in the next period.

New breakthrough strategy

The province’s smart city project in the period of 2021-2025 is being formed, offering a new breakthrough strategy, including the planning of the Innovation Zone with many specific projects such as the Science - Technology Industrial Park, the WTC BDNC.

In the period of 2021-2025, Binh Duong province has clearly determined that its smart city project will be specially invested and developed, a spearhead for international breakthrough. The province will focus resources for the development of the Innovation Region, the smart city project in the new period. Accordingly, the province will continue strongly implementing orientations for industrial development in the northern region, promote good conditions to build new infrastructure at high-quality requirements  while upgrading urban services in the in the southern region, in which Binh Duong new city with synchronous and modern planning is the center of the province.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Long, Acting Director of provincial Department of Science and Technology, Director of Binh Duong Smart City Office said that transport - logistics are the prerequisite for the development of the province in a new period. Particularly, the province will focus on building railway and waywater infrastructure and upgrading road infrastructure in association with smart logistics. This is one of the most important keys in the regional linkage, particularly in the Southern key economic region, in order to reduce road traffic pressure, production costs and transport time. According to Mr. Long, Binh Duong this year will focus on investing in smart traffic infrastructure and logistics. Currently, the province is directing relevant units to research a strategy on logistics development in the new period…

In addition, Binh Duong will apply the TOD model - urban development in the direction of relying on public traffic, in order to develop urban chains associated with the construction of the BRT routes, traffic system with regional connectivity; further strengthen the local; continues investing in the construction of north-south, east-west axes, to complete belt roads, main roads of the province, connecting intra-provincial and inter-provincial traffic. The province will also attach special importance to high-quality infrastructure, telecommunications, information technology, digital – broadband development. ( to be continued)

Tran Van Nam, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of provincial Party Committee, Head of provincial National Assembly deputy delegation: “The event of Binh Duong for the third time in a row named in the Smart21 list was a certificate of the province’s great efforts and achievements over the past time. In the period of 2021-2025, Binh Duong will mobilize resources for the development of the Innovation Zone and the Smart City project…”.

Mai Hung Dung, member of provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice-Chairman of provincial People's Committee, Head of Binh Duong Smart City’s Executive Board  said: “Binh Duong is directing the construction of a new project for the next period towards further realizing the projects set out in 2020. The province will also make investment in order to perfect a science - technology industrial park; continue implementing the construction of traffic infrastructure facilities, reducing logistics costs; start the construction of the WTC BDNC, creating a motivation for the local development in the coming years”.

Louis Zacharilla, co-founder of the World Community Forum (ICF): “We witnessed the efforts by Binh Duong’s government and people towards a modern and smart city over the past time. Currently, Binh Duong has a very good strategy on smart city development and is making efforts to get more thriving. Therefore, we have much hope to see more successes from Binh Duong in the coming time ”.

Reported by Phuong Le-Translated by K.T