Staff at the Public Administration Service Centre help residents take an online queue number for land-related documents via the iHanoi app. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội is accelerating its digital transformation, requiring all municipal agencies to use artificial intelligence (AI) from October 1 and aiming to issue electronic IDs to 95 per cent of residents under a new 2026 plan.

Under Plan No. 131/KH-UBND, signed on March 31 by Vice Chairman Trương Việt Dũng, routine and ad-hoc reports not classified as secret must be filed through a unified city reporting system. Sixty per cent of official meetings are to be held online and all work dossiers will be processed electronically with official digital signatures.

The plan mandates an API-first technical architecture, shared data platforms and security-by-design, and calls for a city operations dashboard hosted at the municipal data centre. All new or upgraded systems must connect to the national LGSP platform and government portals must be fully transparent and interoperable.

The city aims for the digital economy to account for at least 22 per cent of GRDP and for e-commerce to exceed 17 per cent of total retail sales, while maintaining Hà Nội’s top national ranking on the annual E-Business Index.

The city will support 10,000 small and medium enterprises to adopt practical digital tools, from AI marketing to automated accounting, at low cost.

Hà Nội also plans to green its digital infrastructure by applying energy-efficient standards to data centres, cloud services and procurement.

Cultural and creative industries are targeted for growth. The city will convert at least 10 Thăng Long-Hà Nội cultural assets into copyrighted digital IP and back 20–30 digital content projects for commercialisation and export.

On social policy, the plan expands VNeID authentication across services and proposes a proactive digital welfare model that automatically activates benefits when eligibility is met.

Data-driven systems will be used to identify households at risk of returning to poverty and workers vulnerable to automation, with tied measures for training and job transitions.

Authorities say the plan also requires studies of the social impacts of digitalisation, including the digital divide, AI’s effect on employment, youth exposure to social media and ethical risks online. — VNS