On Thursday, representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications met with some of Da Nang’s leaders to review the application of information technology (IT) in the city.

A local IT company

According to a spokesperson for the municipal Department of Information and Communications, recent years have seen numerous fruitful results from the application of IT to boost local administrative reform and enhance the business environment. 

In particular, the IT infrastructure has been modernly and synchronously upgraded.  The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) has been set up to allow all departments and agencies in the city easier access to the local urban Internet network.  All local government employees have been provided with computers or laptops to work.

In addition, an e-government system was officially put into operation in July 2014.  The ‘Building Da Nang into a Smarter City’ project has been implemented in the city, with a focus on enhancing the effective management of public buses and the quality of drinking water, as well as the installation of traffic surveillance cameras across the city.

Top priority has been given to attracting high-quality human resources for the local IT sector in order to successfully develop the ‘smarter city’ model.

Also at the meeting, representatives from local IT businesses suggested that one focus should be on promoting the development of the local IT sector, especially software exports, in order to boost the application of IT.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hung pledged to facilitate local relevant agencies to solve some cumbersome IT-related administrative procedures, and to help Ta Lang and Gian Bi villagers in Hoa Vang District’s Hoa Bac Commune to access digital terrestrial TV services.  He added that his unit and the Ministry of Education and Training would enhance the existing IT-related academic curricula to improve the quality of IT human resources.

Municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung remarked that Da Nang is aiming to become a smarter city in the near future in order to provide the best services for local residents.  He asked the Ministry to give professional and financial assistance to the local information and communications sector.