Steadfast in goal of smart city construction

Part 1: Creating a sustainable future

In 2021, the World Smart Community Forum (ICF) honored Binh Duong Smart Region as one of the top 7 communities with the world’s typical smart city development strategies. This is the first time Binh Duong Smart Zone has entered the top 7 after 3 consecutive times in the top 21 (Smart 21).

Reaching the world

Since 2016, Binh Duong has determined to implement the Smart City Project, closely following the approach and set of criteria of the ICF with the participation of many domestic, foreign organizations and businesses, including Becamex IDC. Binh Duong has planned an area called Binh Duong Smart Zone covering the southern part of the province, selected based on international criteria, where is a gathering of the province’s cities, educational research and key industrial development areas.

Binh Duong New City is selected as Binh Duong Smart Zone. In 2021, Binh Duong Smart Zone was in the top 7 communities with the world’s typical smart city development strategies

In October 2018, Binh Duong Smart Zone was the first locality in Vietnam to achieve the Smart 21 and officially became a member of the ICF. That is an important first step, showing that Binh Duong is gradually forming an initial foundation to create a new breakthrough. In 2019 and 2020, Binh Duong continued its development momentum, continuously implementing new programs for smart city construction, constantly making socio-economic breakthroughs. In October 2019, Binh Duong was honored for the second time in a row as one of cities with the world's typical smart city development strategy (Smart 21). In February, 2021, Binh Duong, the only representative of Vietnam, was among the Smart 21 list for the third time, affirming the right direction of smart city development in line with the Resolution of provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure.

After 3 consecutive times in the top 21 (Smart 21), in July 2021, Binh Duong Smart Zone entered the top 7 with the world’s typical smart city development strategies for the first time. To be among the top 7, a region needs to satisfy 6 rigorous criteria that are tested in the top 21 round, including: Broadband connection platform, intellectual human resources, innovation, sustainable development, digital equality and community commitment.

For Binh Duong, the local steadfastness of 25- year development with the State’s strategy and efforts by enterprises on the basis of internal understanding and future orientation for the happiness of the community is acknowledged by ICF and the international community. Specifically, the province has responded to the development strategies of localities, recognizing the inheritance, depth and consistency of the strategy in order to create values ​​for the prosperity and happiness of the community. Notably, the province has implemented the Binh Duong Innovation Region project as a goal and orientation to improve the local development quality in the coming time.

Mai Hung Dung, member of provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice-Chairman of provincial People's Committee, Head of the Executive Board of Binh Duong Smart City said: “The fact that Binh Duong Smart Zone has joined the ICF and has been among the Smart 21 for 4 consecutive years  is of great significance for the province to continue making breakthroughs in socio-economic development, affirming that the province's smart city development orientation is effective and consistent with the global trend. The result has contributed to raising Binh Duong to a new position in the international arena, opening up cooperation opportunities with the ICF's network of more than 180 thriving smart cities around the world, creating confidence for investors, enterprises, and breakthroughs in attraction foreign investment, attracting intellectual laborers, which is seen as the foundation for service development, high-tech production in the future.

Making breakthrough

The results of Binh Duong in the process of smart city construction over the past time are the foundation for the province to create a breakthrough for vigorous development in the new period. According to Prof., Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai from Ho Chi Minh city University of Economics, Binh Duong has always taken the lead in local management compared to the Southern Key Economic Zone. Binh Duong has signed friendship cooperation agreements with many partners in developed countries, got involved in smart city construction, become a member of many prestigious organizations in the world. Especially, being honored by ICF for 4 consecutive times has affirmed Binh Duong’s soundness in choosing and building the local development model. These are also bright spots as well as a driving force for Binh Duong to make a breakthrough in the new period.

Gabor Fluit, Managing Director of De Heus Asia, Vice-President of the European Business Association in Vietnam assessed that Binh Duong is a locality being always ahead of science, technology and infrastructure development. Binh Duong has got involved in smart city development along with green growth, which is the right development direction. Our company has always supported Binh Duong as well as Becamex IDC which has applied new technologies and solar energy. These will be favorable conditions for the company to develop in Binh Duong. (to be continued)

*Daniel Coenraad Stork, Consul General of the Netherlands in Ho Chi Minh City: With its strategies on attracting investment and creating a favorable investment climate for enterprises, Binh Duong is an attractive destination for investors. Over the past years, many Dutch enterprises chose Binh Duong for investment, which was a clear demonstration of the impact of the local development strategy. I think Binh Duong's smart city development strategy over the past time played an extremely important role. With the leadership of local authorities in various fields, this strategy has really helped the province develop strongly and extensively in many fields, contributing to making Binh Duong become one of the world’s most attractive and sustainable destinations for economic development.

*Do Cong Anh, Deputy Head of the Computerization Agency under the Ministry of Information and Communications: Binh Duong is one of the country’s leading localities in FDI attraction. Binh Duong determined that at present, it is necessary for the province to find a new development model, with a strategy in favor of attracting sci-tech and hi-tech projects towards knowledge-based economy. The province has worked with the Dutch city of Eindhoven to set up a strategy with local features, and then all solutions have been revolved around this strategy. I see Binh Duong as a locality, with the most obvious development strategy, connecting the State, entrepreneurs and institutes/schools.

* Assoc. Prof.Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Head of the Vietnam Institute for Economics: "The development logic of Binh Duong is "advancement”. From pioneering the development of "new-style" industrial parks with VSIP leading the way to building a modern Binh Duong Industrial - Service - Urban Complex. Currently, the province’s smart city construction and sci-tech industrial park development are all steps in the way of changing the development level, not going under the "linear" logic. Actually, I think Binh Duong has chosen the wise way of "followers", knowing how to take advantage of "going behind to get ahead". Binh Duong has built a smart city and was honored 4 times in a row by the ICF, confirming that Binh Duong's approach and vision cannot be like other localities. In the ecosystem development, Binh Duong’s industrial development to shape smart city is the trend as the local goal. In the coming time, the province's ecosystem will foster as a smart and creative regional system, developed on the basis of digital technology. Binh Duong will rise up as an innovative smart city with innovative and intellectual resources…

Reported by Phuong Le-Translated by Kim Tin