The US Trade and Development Agency has signed an agreement to provide grant funding for technical assistance to fundamentally transform the ways Ho Chi Minh City manages its daily operations through advanced data analytics.

Ho Chi Minh City's leaders witness the signing of an agreement between the city's Department of Information and Communications and the US General Consulate on August 25, HCMC. Photo: hochiminhcity.gov.vn

“Ho Chi Minh City has an ambitious smart cities agenda, and USTDA is an ideal partner to support its goals,” said Todd Abrajano, USTDA chief operating officer and head of agency. “Our partnership will help the city deploy cutting-edge ICT technologies and advanced data analytics that innovative US companies are ready to supply.”

USTDA’s funding will help the city develop implementation plans for an Intelligent Operations Center, a smart cities priority that will aggregate real-time urban data onto an intuitive dashboard platform that can be leveraged by local leaders. Through the use of these smart technologies and the application of advanced data analytics, Ho Chi Minh City can enhance service delivery to its rapidly growing population and advance new economic development.   

The project will have a value of US$1.45 million, of which US$1.16 million will be funded by USTDA and the rest by the US's Wilburne Consulting, which will execute the project. The agreement was signed during the Ho Chi Minh City-US Business Summit in the city on August 25.

“This is a watershed moment for Vietnam and US Business to drive new partnerships, expand new business opportunities, and engage in all critical sectors in Vietnam. With the United States as a partner, Vietnam has the potential to leapfrog into a modern, digitally enabled economy, advancing beyond other countries in the region,” said United States Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink.

The Technical Assistance to Develop the Intelligent Operations Center for Ho Chi Minh City is the second cooperation project between the Department of Ho Chi Minh City Information and Communications and the United States Trade and Development Agency, following the success of the Technical Assistance to Develop the Integrated Emergency Communications System for Ho Chi Minh City, which was conducted and completed in 2018-2019, said Le Quoc Cuong, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Information and Communications Department.

“The signing of the grant agreement for the Technical Assistance to Develop the Intelligent Operations Center for Ho Chi Minh City is the most concrete evidence for the strong development of the comprehensive partnership in smart cities between Ho Chi Minh City and the United States on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and the United States,” Cuong noted.