HCM City seminar discusses service infrastructure planning

HCM City (VNA) – The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee held a seminar on July 3 to discuss developing local services and zoning of service infrastructure for the 2020-2030 period.

Speaking at the event, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan said Ho Chi Minh City is an economic hub of the country and southern key economic zone in particular.

He described the service sector as a strategic development spearhead along with finance-banking-insurance, trade, tourism, transportation, seaports and warehouses; posts, telecommunications, information and media; real estate and consultancy; science-technology, heath care, education and training.

Nguyen Thanh Nha, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Architecture, said service infrastructures includes tangible and intangible ones such as transportation, energy and cyber infrastructure.

He suggested devising a master plan on urban infrastructure, land use and artificial intelligence application.

World Bank’s senior expert Zhiyu Jerry Chen recommended that the city should pay attention to measures to improve regional economic connectivity, especially fields that create added value to the city.

Executive Director of Planning & Design Halvard Dalheim from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said planning work needs coordination with inner districts and nearby regions, especially issues regarding transportation and logistics.

Statistics show that the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) topped 1 quadrillion VND (43 billion USD) last year, up 8.3 percent year-on-year. Up to 62.4 percent of this was contributed by service sector which maintained a high growth of 8.4 percent.

At present, nine key services are accounting for 57.1 percent of the city’s GRDP.-VNA