On October 16-17, 2025, in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province), the Ministry of Construction coordinated with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to organize a workshop on Mid-term Report and consultation on the implementation of the Project "Technical assistance to enhance urban development management capacity to respond to climate change through the development of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Management Information System (UPIS)".
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van - Head of the UPIS Project Steering Committee, Country Director of KOICA Vietnam Lee Byung Hwa, representatives of central agencies, experts from the two countries and leaders of relevant localities attended the workshop.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van said that in the context of Vietnam promoting national digital transformation, towards developing green, smart and sustainable urban areas, the establishment of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Information System (UPIS) is a urgent and strategic significance. This is not only a technology application project, but also an important foundation to realize the goal of modernizing urban planning, management and development in Vietnam, responding to climate change challenges.
The UPIS project aims to create a unified data system, helping management agencies from central to local levels to monitor, evaluate and make accurate and timely decisions in urban planning, construction and development. The system also supports data sharing and integration between sectors and levels, promoting the participation of people and businesses through digital interactive services, contributing to the formation of a modern, transparent and effective urban governance.
Since July 1st, 2025, Vietnam has shifted to a two-tier local government model (province/city and ward/commune), replacing the old three-tier model. This context requires new, smart, connected and data-driven governance tools to ensure consistency in direction and support fast and accurate decision-making. UPIS is the fundamental solution to meet that requirement, while contributing to enhancing climate change response capacity, towards the goal of green urban areas and sustainable development, Van said.
Overview of working session
According to Deputy Minister Nguyễn Tường Văn, after more than four years of implementation (since August 2021), the UPIS project has achieved several important fundamental results. The project has developed an Information Technology Application Strategy (ISP) and Business Process Restructuring (BPR) in the field of urban development management; completed the Green Cities Indicator Set of 73 indicators, and the Disaster Vulnerability Assessment Indicator Set of 134 indicators, clearly identifying general and specific indicator groups for each locality.
The project has also established a database system architecture consisting of three main components: Urban planning and development management; Monitoring and reporting; Service portal for interacting with citizens; and proposed a legal framework for management, access and exploitation of urban planning data, ensuring consistency and transparency in the operation process.
Speaking at the workshop, KOICA Vietnam Country Director Lee Byung Hwa said experts from both countries have cooperated closely and achieved many remarkable results in the components: building a standard database on urban information, developing an urban analysis model, developing a set of indicators on green cities and vulnerability to natural disasters, and recommending a system of legal documents especially those incorporated into the Law on Urban and Rural Planning.
Concluding the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van highly appreciated the active support of KOICA and Korean experts, as well as the close coordination of units under the Ministry of Construction and pilot localities. The Deputy Minister proposed the parties to continually coordinate to ensure the Project is completed on schedule, , and ready for the pilot operation, acceptance and handover phase in 2026.