Citizens and businesses in Hanoi will benefit from the city's centralized public administration service center, which is scheduled to operate on December 31 this year, according to local officials.  

Ensuring a better investment environment

Residents of Quan Thanh Ward, Ba Dinh District, explore digital signatures. Photos: Lao Dong Thu Do Newspaper

The Hanoi People's Committee established such a center in only four months, making the city the first locality to launch the pilot project.

Ha Minh Hai, Deputy Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, said that the project is expected to address the shortcomings of the current one-stop administrative services, which lacks a coordinating body to supervise and ensure transparent procedures.

The Public Administration Service Center aims to improve the existing one-stop shop and the interconnected one-stop shops for handling administrative procedures, the deputy chairman noted.

Implementation plan

The one-stop shop of Thuy Khue Ward, Ba Dinh District.

Cu Ngoc Trang, Director of the Hanoi Public Administrative Service Center, emphasized that the center represents a step forward in administrative reform, reflecting the city's commitment to "long-term vision - creative thinking - smart solutions" in building a digital government that serves residents and businesses and meets the practical needs of a special city like Hanoi. 

He said the center will focus on refining its organization and structure, prioritizing innovative investments in technology, and leveraging the expertise of specialists and scientists. 

Beginning in February 2025, the center will pilot the acceptance of administrative applications within the jurisdiction of various departments. It plans to establish 30 branches based on the takeover and reorganization of existing district-level one-stop shops to directly handle certain administrative procedures currently solved by local officials.

The center aims to improve service, expecting all administrative applications to be publicly accessible to ensure transparency throughout the intake and resolution processes for monitoring and evaluation. 

"From July 1, 2025, the Public Administrative Service Center will handle administrative procedures for all Hanoi residents, regardless of which district they come from, and serve as the single point of transaction for public services throughout the city. All 30 branches will handle administrative procedures at three levels of government, with a strong focus on online transactions," Trang said. 

Tran Sy Thanh, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, emphasized that the center is a new municipal agency at the department level, which is an unprecedented "special administrative agency" to enable the city government to oversee all administrative procedures, facilitating residents and businesses while improving coordination among various departments and districts. 

"There will be many challenges ahead, but this is an opportunity to build a new organization, framework, and administrative culture," said the chairman.