A view of the Hương River in Huế city.  VNS Photo Công Thành

THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ – The central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) have signed a Record of Discussion concerning the Huế Culture and Tourism smart city development project with a total fund of US$14.8 million.

The provincial people’s committee said KOICA will help Huế improve capabilities in public management of tourism and change the tourism-based sustainable economic development in terms of society and environment.

Following the agreement, KOICA will invest $13 million, while the province will cover the rest over the next five years.

KOICA will send technical experts to support province in building a cultural tourism centre and expanding the pedestrian area along the Hương River.

A smart lighting and public security system will be installed for the tourism core zone including parks on the river banks between the Dã Viên and Trường Tiền bridges.

In 2019, KOICA also sponsored for construction of a new footbridge along the southern riverbank costing VNĐ64 billion ($2.7 million).

Last year, the province and Facebook launched a comprehensive partnership programme to support the digital transformation process, with the aim of turning Huế into a smart municipality in the near future.

The province has re-opened the Tịnh Tâm Lake, known as the Royal Palace Garden of the Nguyễn Dynasty, after restoration and repairs.

The central province hosted 4.8 million tourists in 2019, but less than half, 2 million, visited the city in 2020 due to COVID-19. — VNS