US allocates $1.45 mln toward HCMC's smart city development

The grant includes over $1.16 million non-refundable aid from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) while the remainder is provided by American consulting services company Winbourne Consulting, who will carry out the project.

Todd Abrajano, USTDA COO and Head of Agency, said at the agreement signing ceremony Tuesday: "Ho Chi Minh City has an ambitious smart city agenda, and USTDA is an ideal partner to support its goals."

The partnership will help the city deploy cutting-edge ICT technologies and advanced data analytics that innovative U.S. companies are ready to supply, he said.

USTDA’s funding will help the city develop implementation plans for an Intelligent Operations Center, a smart cities priority that will collect and analyze real-time data and information to help decision-makers govern, plan, and shape the future development of HCMC.

The operation center is one of four pillars of a master plan to transform Vietnam’s southern economic hub into a smart city in the 2017-2020 period with a vision toward 2025.

In 2017, the southern metropolis began implementing a plan to transform itself into a smart city by 2020.

The goal of this ambitious plan is to use scientific advances to resolve the problems the city faces, including a rapid population spurt, unsustainable economic growth, inadequate forecasting, planning and management, poor healthcare, education and transport, pollution, and inefficient public administration.

The plan will focus on creating a better living environment for the city’s residents.

HCMC, home to 13 million, has been facing heavy congestion and frequent flooding for years.