September 2025. Professor Nguyen Quang Trung RMIT Vietnam Asia Pacific Smart and Sustainable Cities Hub. Vietnam at pivotal moment. By end 2024 many localities established smart city initiatives, operational centres for transport, healthcare, digital education. As of end 2023, 2,200 e-services via National Public Service Portal. By 2050 cities flexible sustainable data-governed. Digital twins allow real-time planning, automated public transport, renewable energy dense urban zones. Immediate priorities: 5G networks, data centres, broadband access, human capital development

September 2025. Vietnam with fast urbanisation, young population, open economy has foundations but gaps in planning, infrastructure, governance. Da Nang led early pilots smart water and transport, Hanoi HCMC introduced smart cards public Wi-Fi. Hanoi HCMC Da Nang part ASEAN Smart Cities Network. Should develop national roadmap based on ADB five-phase framework: City Diagnostics, Readiness Assessment, Strategy Development, Implementation Planning, Monitoring Evaluation. Cities like Seoul Shenzhen Tokyo integrated digital twins real-time data green infrastructure

May 6, 2025 workshop Sustainable Urban Areas SUA 2025 at Hanoi University of Civil Engineering. Co-organized HUCE, TU Dortmund Germany, BMUV Development Cooperation Program Germany. Present outcomes research, promote practical application digital twin models, green building technologies, renewable energy, virtual reality in planning design operation sustainable urban areas. Topics: digital shadows AR VR applications, MBR water filtration, economic aspects green infrastructure, cooling effects greening solutions. Site visit TestBed 02 showcasing smart green building technologies

February 1, 2024. Vietnam made strides since Hanoi HCMC Danang took lead ASEAN Smart Cities Network 2018. 48 out of 63 provinces have or building smart urban schemes. Ministry of Construction: 57 localities implementing smart urban utilities and services focusing traffic, healthcare, education, warning applications. 19 provinces piloting smart urban services. Hanoi HCMC Danang Binh Duong Thua Thien-Hue Bac Ninh Binh Phuoc achieved successes. Trend: leverage command centres capture data via sensor networks, process data, dashboards, develop digital twins, introduce AI capabilities. Key advantages: improving quality of life, shaping competitive economy, developing sustainable environment

March 17, 2022 Earth.Org. PM issued policy 2018 to implement Sustainable Smart City Development Project 2018-2025 completed by 2030. October 2019 project began 272-hectare site Da Nang one of earliest. Vinhomes Smart City by Vingroup Vietnam’s largest private corporation. Phan Thanh Son FPT: Vietnam has roughly 800 urban regions, first wave 2017-2020, second wave 2021-2025, third wave after 2025. 40+ cities have initiatives. 10 provinces designed authorised smart city initiatives. Solar power encouraged, rooftop installations facilitated

YCP Solidiance white paper. Smart city infrastructure currently piloted, COVID-19 sped up adoption digital e-services. Development prioritized since 2018 with HCMC Hanoi Da Nang Can Tho at forefront. Government approved Decision No. 749/QD-TTG (National Digital Transformation 2025-2030) 2021 as guideline. Challenges for HCMC and Hanoi slowing development. Smaller cities like Da Nang have clearer paths. HCMC approved Smart Urban Operation Center VND30B ($1.4M) 2019. Case studies: HCMC Smart City, Da Nang Data Portal, Saigon Sport City district-level

September 26, 2023. Application of BIM emerged as mandatory standard in major construction projects requiring Vietnamese enterprises integrate new technology into all work processes. Vietnam’s construction industry engaged in digital transformation. Becamex IDC Corporation, Ricons Construction Investment JSC, VC Group are major firms successfully integrated IoT AI cloud-based BIM technology into processes. Lê Minh Long Deputy Director Science Technology Environmental Department: BIM applications enhance efficiency of design construction project management. BIM implemented in projects with complicated designs technical systems including state or foreign investment capital. Recognition of benefits: BIM becoming new business imperative. Several construction-technology software tools for multiple use cases from digital collaboration to on-site execution. Help tackle over-reliance on manual work optimize resources improve design capabilities enhance field productivity

Infrastructure principal development priority for ODA, other key sectors: transportation, telecommunications, energy, environmental/water, civil aviation, education, financial services. May 2016 US lifted ban on sale defense articles opening new sector. Government procurement regulated by Law on Public Procurement 43/2013/QH13 approved October 26, 2013 and Decree No 63/2014/ND-CP August 15, 2014. ODA-funded procurement governed by donor regulations. Public investment projects classified Article 6 Law on Public Investment into Group-A B C. Solicitations announced in Vietnamese newspapers: Dau Thau Nhan Dan Lao Dong Saigon Giai Phong, English: Vietnam News Vietnam Investment Review. Firms check MPI’s public procurement website. Winning contracts requires high involvement communication between foreign supplier local distributor representative relevant government entities

UNDP trainings held April-June 2024 across Uzbekistan and Karakalpakstan in collaboration with Scientific Research Institute for Technical Norms and Standardization, supported by GEF. Participants: architects, designers, professors, students. Topics: passive heating/cooling systems, software for calculating solar insolation, Building Information Modeling (BIM) technologies in design process. Participants learned free software tools for building location/orientation analysis. BIM technologies enhance transparency throughout design and construction process. Part of ‘Market transformation for Sustainable Rural Housing in Uzbekistan’ and ‘Sustainable Rural Development’ projects.