The central city and the military-owned telecommunications group Viettel have agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to complete the development of Da Nang into a ‘smart city' by 2025.

This will be the second phase of cooperation between the two sides, after a successful five-year information technology (IT) deal between 2016-2020, focused on introducing smart management in health, education and training services.

Chairman of the city's People's Committee, Le Trung Chinh, said the cooperation between the city and Viettel had created the foundation to build up Da Nang as a ‘smart city’ by 2025.

He said the first period of the deal had created smart solutions in the management of the transport infrastructure, environment, power and water systems and population.

Chinh added the city had launched an e-government system in 2014, making IT infrastructure available for smart connections in air control, water management, garbage collection and meteorology, earthquake and tsunami warning, floods and erosion and sewage management systems.

Following the latest MoU, Viettel plans to launch a 5G network at Da Nang Software Park No 1 and No 2 in 2021, with an Internet of Things (IoT) service, a digital database centre and cyber security services.

Viettel plans to build the Da Nang-based IT Complex Centre in the northwest urban area of Son Tra Peninsula, for further strategic development in central Viet Nam.

Da Nang has been building software park No 2 with an investment of VND986 billion (US$43 million), creating a workplace for 6,000 IT engineers in the first phase by 2022.

The city has developed two centralised information technology zones – the Da Nang Software Park and Da Nang IT Park – to offer a workplace for 1,900 IT and communications experts.

The 341ha Da Nang IT Park, which was designed as the ‘Silicon Valley’ in central Viet Nam, is expected to create revenue of $1.5 billion each year, with 25,000 jobs and an urban area for 100,000 people from 2030.

South Korea’s LG Electronics and Da Nang’s Investment Promotion Agency agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding for the first research and development (R&D) centre in the city last year.

The LG Electronics R&D centre aims to create a space for software research and production in serving electronics manufacturing in Viet Nam, as well as attracting more subsidiaries of LG from Korea to Da Nang and Viet Nam. — VNS