Hai Phong City Enhances Administrative Efficiency and Citizen Services Through Digital Transformation

Hai Phong City, a major port city in northern Vietnam, is prioritizing digital transformation (DX) to effectively manage its two-tier local government system (city and district/county levels), address increasing workloads, and meet growing citizen demands for services. According to Mr. Nguyen Cao Thang, Director of the Hai Phong Department of Science and Technology, the implementation of the two-tier local government model not only restructures the administrative apparatus but also imposes high demands on governance, management, and data connectivity city-wide. Even before the merger, the city and the former Hai Duong province proactively collaborated on a DX plan, emphasizing that "the unification of the administrative apparatus must go hand-in-hand with the unification of data, platforms, and operational methods." The city has decisively implemented the construction of digital infrastructure to support unified command and operation from the city to the grassroots level. A video conferencing system with 232 dedicated lines has been deployed to 100% of communes, wards, and special zones, with each local unit equipped with two conference rooms to efficiently handle multi-level meetings, emergency situations, and regular reporting. An average of 20 to 25 online meetings per month contributes to reduced travel time, lower administrative costs, and enhanced inter-level coordination. One of the most challenging aspects of merging administrative boundaries was resolving the differences in digital infrastructure, platforms, and data between the two former localities. The Department of Science and Technology conducted a comprehensive review of 12 critical IT platforms, including data centers, intelligent operation centers (IOCs), document management systems, administrative procedure processing systems, and shared data warehouses, to select a unified model. The city has placed particular emphasis on investing in IT equipment for grassroots levels, especially at commune-level public administrative service centers. Essential devices like computers, digital scanners, automated queuing systems, digital signatures, and electronic application processing systems now largely meet the requirements for online work processing, positioning Hai Phong as one of the leading cities nationwide in achieving a 'greened' digital transformation infrastructure. Shared databases and specialized databases, such as those for residents, land, businesses, civil status, education, healthcare, and social assistance, have been completed and are being leveraged to process administrative procedures and support operations. The functionality of the Intelligent Operation Center (IOC) has been enhanced to monitor economic and social development, process administrative procedures, disburse public investment capital, manage land acquisition, and handle citizen and business feedback, thereby gradually forming a real-time data-driven information system for command and control. Since early 2025, the Department of Science and Technology has organized numerous direct and online training courses on digital skills for over 90,000 civil servants, from the city to the grassroots. The online competition "Hai Phong Digital Citizen: Smart Use, Safe Living" attracted over 253,000 participants. Additionally, 2,420 community digital technology teams, with over 15,400 members, act as bridges to bring digital technology closer to the people, fostering the development of a digital society. The application of IT and digital transformation has significantly contributed to the stable operation of Hai Phong's two-tier local government, enhancing its management, command, operations, and public service delivery to citizens and businesses. The city plans to continue its comprehensive digital transformation efforts, including further refining shared databases and platforms. Source: Nhan Dan