Can Tho strives to develop a smart city.

Departments, agencies, and localities in Can Tho City are focusing on developing smart cities in many areas.

Can Tho City is orienting itself towards developing a smart city, including the field of intelligent traffic management.

Initial results

Can Tho City is the central urban area of ​​the Mekong Delta region; therefore, the development of the Can Tho City Smart City Project is an urgent requirement to concretize the policies and orientations of the Central Government; selectively apply international experience suitable to local conditions; and at the same time meet the requirements of urban management and development in the new context. Through this, it will not only help the city effectively address post-merger management challenges but also affirm its role as a leading force and a key connector in the digital transformation process and sustainable smart city development.

The plan for developing Can Tho City's smart city for the period 2026-2030, with a vision to 2040, focuses on modernizing infrastructure, applying artificial intelligence (AI) in governance, management, and services for citizens and businesses, aiming towards digital transformation and green transition. This plan was issued on January 23, 2026 (Decision 323/QD-UBND). The objectives for Can Tho City in the 2026-2030 period are: to complete the criteria for a Level 1 smart city and strive to improve several key criteria to Level 2 or higher; and to complete ongoing smart city development tasks. Simultaneously, the plan emphasizes key and urgent areas, balancing the city's resources, implementing projects step-by-step, and investing in focused development; prioritizing the construction and completion of the smart city superstructure, smart city infrastructure, and urban database; and applying AI…

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Can Tho City, said that in addition to the Smart City Development Project, the Department also advised the People's Committee of Can Tho City to issue documents on smart city development such as the smart city development strategy, the smart city development action plan, and the establishment of the Smart City Coordination Council... Can Tho is one of four cities that issued the project as directed by the Central Government ( Hanoi , Da Nang, Can Tho, Hai Phong) and one of the first two centrally-governed cities (Hanoi, Can Tho) to establish a Smart City Development Coordination Council as stipulated in Government Decree No. 269/2025/ND-CP on smart city development.

Assessing the level of smart city development in Can Tho City, according to the Sustainable Smart City Criteria (version 1.0) of the Ministry of Construction , the city has currently completed 3 out of 16 criteria, including: an online feedback system, public works ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities, and wastewater treatment meeting standards. The city is actively implementing 8 out of 16 Level 1 criteria: construction planning and urban planning based on GIS; real-time monitoring of traffic safety; monitoring of the urban water distribution network by a smart water system; urban waste sorting at source; unified electronic health records; electronic payment accounts; surveillance cameras to ensure security and order; and establishing a GIS-based data management system.

Creating momentum for city development

According to the Can Tho City Department of Construction, to achieve the goal of building smart cities by 2030 for centrally-governed cities as stipulated in Resolution 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo, the Can Tho City Smart City Development Project outlines 59 tasks and projects to fulfill the smart city criteria, assigned to various agencies and units. Specifically, the Department of Science and Technology has 17 projects; the Department of Construction has 12 projects; the Department of Agriculture and Environment has 13 projects; the City Police Department has 4 projects; the Department of Internal Affairs has 1 project; the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has 3 projects; the Department of Health has 3 projects; the Department of Education and Training has 5 projects; and the People's Committees of communes and wards have 1 project…

Specifically for 2026-2027, the city prioritizes the implementation of 21 key projects. Among these, priority projects focus on building core foundations: developing the ICT architecture framework, the Can Tho City database, innovation infrastructure, planning and management of smart city construction, and information security and safety. The city will promote the application of technology and AI Agent ecosystems to support the operation of urban technical infrastructure, focusing on addressing urban bottlenecks (water management, flood control and smart risk warning; smart transportation; smart waste management).

To implement the Smart City development tasks in 2026, the Department of Construction of Can Tho City is integrating smart city content into urban and rural planning and developing urban and rural planning based on GIS databases (integration already implemented during the preparation of the Can Tho City master plan); preparing a common data software (CDE) to serve the appraisal and storage of building information modeling (BIM) documents; and building a pilot data management platform for the construction industry… In addition, the Department has proposed implementing the first phase of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) investment project; and the investment project for a smart parking system, using information systems and sensors to manage smart parking at parking lots and locations.

According to Mr. Hoang Quoc Cuong, Director of the Can Tho Department of Health, in April 2026, the Department issued a plan to implement the Smart City Project in the health sector. The Department is gradually implementing electronic health records, aiming for over 95% of the population to have records created; 100% of medical facilities in the area to have integrated electronic health records on the VNeID application; 100% of medical examination and treatment facilities to implement medical examination and treatment using citizen identification cards and VNeID; and 100% of medical examination and treatment facilities to implement electronic medical records…

At a recent meeting of the Can Tho City Smart City Development Coordination Council, Mr. Truong Canh Tuyen, Chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee, emphasized: Smart city development is an integral part of the city's digital transformation. Departments, agencies, and wards/communes need to boldly propose building databases, developing infrastructure, human resources, and raising awareness about digital transformation; directors of departments and agencies and secretaries of wards/communes should identify key tasks in digital transformation. The city is ready to allocate budget for digital transformation to create momentum for rapid growth in Can Tho in the coming period.

Text and photos: ANH KHOA

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/can-tho-no-luc-phat-trien-do-thi-thong-minh-a203614.html