Seminar participants learn about new technologies used in the technical infrastructure sector on Tuesday in HCM City. Photo sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — Digital transformation has become a critical need for technical infrastructure enterprises to survive in the fourth industrial revolution, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, speakers said at a seminar on Tuesday in HCM City.

Nguyễn Văn Đắng, director of the Gia Định Water Supply Joint-Stock Company under the Saigon Water Corporation (SAWACO), said that digital technologies improve administrative methods and production activities, helping to better serve customers.

The water supply sector, for example, uses GIS (Geographic Information System) technology for data sharing among units. This helps to reduce leakage and improve water supply management, with the goal of supplying clean water to all urban residents in Việt Nam.

The GIS technology also uses virtual assistants to handle repetitive questions and collect data from customers. It provides information on mangrove forecasting to farmers via telephone, and analyses water levels to help scientists assess the water situation during different seasons of the year.

“To successfully implement digital transformation, enterprises must improve the quality of human resources, which will help productivity and thus enhance competitiveness,” Đắng said.

“This success depends heavily on the determination of all participants involved, especially the leaders of the company,” he added.

Trần Quang Minh, general director of SAWACO, said that digital transformation has a far-reaching impact, especially in the water supply sector. It can reduce the time to install water metres, increase labour productivity, save costs, and better monitor the water quality at source.

Võ Thị Trung Trinh, deputy director of the city’s Department of Information and Communications, said that technical infrastructure businesses need access to preferential loans to implement digital transformation. 

She said the city plans to provide professional training about digital transformation to businesses.

The city will also promote the use of shared databases to share data with industries and sectors related to technical infrastructure, such as electricity and water supply, to better serve customers.

HCM City has set a target by 2025 that the city’s digital economy will contribute about 25 per cent of its GDP, she added.

A 2019 report by the US-based McKinsey Global Institute showed that in the construction industry, digital transformation could increase productivity by 14-15 per cent and reduce costs by 4-6 per cent. 

Việt Nam last year began its national digital transformation programme focused on “a digital government, digital economy and digital society”.

Under the programme by 2030, the country will adopt new technologies and models, completely overhaul the way the Government operates, update business operations, change the work style of citizens, and create a safe, secure and humane digital environment. 

The digital economy is projected to produce 20 per cent of the country’s GDP in the near future, with at least 10 per cent of each economic sector part of the digital economy, while annual labor productivity will likely increase at least 7 per cent.

Experts said the country is set to be among the top 50 countries in the information and communication technology development index within the next five years.

The workshop was organised by the Gia Định Water Supply Joint Stock Company under SAWACO. — VNS