The South Korean government highly values the results of bilateral cooperation with Vietnam in construction, especially smart city development over the past time, said the President of the South Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Construction Technology (KICT), Kim Byung Suk, at an event in Hanoi on October 11.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the project “Establishing the Vietnam - South Korea Cooperation Center on smart cities and construction technology” (VKC Project), Kim Byung Suk pledged to support Vietnam in improving institutions and legislation on smart city development, applying technology in developing the construction industry and enhancing the capacity of crucial planning agencies.

The VKC project aims to establish a professional center to promote research and training in smart cities and advanced construction technologies to contribute to the development of smart cities in Vietnam, Kim Byung Suk said.

President of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Construction Technology (KICT) Kim Byung Suk speaks at the event. Photo: Doan Thanh/ The Hanoi Times

He added that the project will gradually concretize Vietnam's guidelines and policies in promoting sustainable smart city development by 2030 and strengthen the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea.

Nguyen Thanh Trung, general director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Construction, said that in recent times, Vietnam's construction industry had made remarkable progress, effectively contributing to the country's industrialization and modernization process.

“The Academy of Urban and Construction Managers (AMC) under the Construction Ministry has actively contributed to the industry’s progress. Therefore, the AMC has been assigned to be the VKC project manager, responsible for coordinating with relevant bodies and South Korean partners to ensure that the project will be successful with the expected achievement," Trung said.

“I believe that, with the experience of urban management and development, especially the experience of smart city development of the South Korean side and close cooperation between the parties, the VKC project will be implemented effectively, contributing positively to the national strategies for sustainable urban and smart city development in Vietnam,” Trung emphasized.

For his part, Tran Huu Ha, director of the AMC Academy, said that ministries and localities are tasked with building the legal framework, regulations and standards for smart urban development.

“In the coming time, the development of smart cities will focus on building a legal foundation and evaluation basis; maintaining and operating an interdisciplinary digitized urban spatial database system; researching and applying smart technology suitable for the Vietnamese context," Ha said.

Currently, 41 of Vietnam's 63 provinces and cities are building smart cities, including 27 localities that are making the entire municipality smart and 14 others that are building smart cities at the sub-provincial level.

The Vietnamese Government have always identified smart city development as one of the critical drivers to realize the goal of turning Vietnam into a modernized and industrialized country by 2045.