The northern province of Bac Giang plans to adopt a series of solutions to accelerate the implementation of digital transformation and develop the digital economy. According to the Bac Giang Party Committee, the province aims to provide 100% of public services at level 4 by the end of 2025 on various platforms, including mobile devices. Level 4 is the highest level of online public services in Vietnam, it allows users to fill and submit forms and pay fees online.
Over 95% of documents and applications at the provincial level will be handled online by then while the rates of documents and applications processed online at the district and communal level are expected to reach 85% and 65%, respectively. According to a news report, by 2025, over 60% of inspection activities by state management agencies in the province will be carried out digitally through the management agency’s information system. The digital economy will account for about 25% of the province’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP). The province will have over 800 digital enterprises and 100% of households and all administrative units at the communal level will have access to a fibre-optic broadband network by the same year. Two smart cities will be built in Bac Giang city and the Viet Yen district. Of which, Bac Giang city will be among the top 15 cities in the country in terms of the smart city index.
Bac Giang will upgrade the provincial Data Integration Centre, promote the application of new technologies, and develop high-quality broadband transmission network infrastructure and Internet of Things (IoT) connection. Province authorities will also invest in building platforms for digital transformation and partner with large corporations to research and establish a concentrated information technology industry cluster in the province.
The report noted that people’s ability to interact with the digital government will be improved, and measures will be taken to ensure cybersecurity. Authorities will prioritise digital transformation healthcare, education, natural resources and environment, industry, agriculture, transportation, and logistics sectors. As per the Department of Information and Communications of Bac Giang, the province is currently home to over 1,400 base transceiver stations (BTS) stations with 3G and 4G services covering the entire province. All communal-level People’s Committees in the province have a high-speed Internet connection. There are more than 1.77 million mobile phone subscribers and over 1.25 million Internet subscribers including fixed and mobile ones in the province. The revenue from telecommunications in Bac Giang topped VND1.9 trillion (US$84 million) last year.
Under Vietnam’s digital transformation programme, the country expects to be among the top 50 countries in terms of e-government by 2030, while the digital economy is to contribute 30% of the national GDP. The country will adopt new technologies and models, completely overhaul the way the government operates, update business operations, change the work style of citizens, and create a safe, secure, and humane digital environment by 2030. The digital economy is projected to produce 20% of the country’s GDP shortly, with at least 10% of each economic sector part of the digital economy, while annual labour productivity will likely increase by at least 7%.
