Forming Consortium for Smart City Development in Northern Hanoi by Mobilizing Japanese Companies’ Technological Expertise to Solve Social Issues in Vietnam

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) has formed a six-company consortium with NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), TEPCO Power Grid, Inc. (TEPCO Power Grid), NEC Corporation, Hakuhodo Inc. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. (MHIENG) to consider launching a joint project to develop a smart city spanning 272 hectares in the Dong Anh district in northern Hanoi City, Vietnam. The six companies will mobilize technologies and expertise to promote urban development for solving social issues in Vietnam and how a town can achieve sustainable growth for 50 years.

■ Purposes of the consortium

Solving social issues in Hanoi City with Japanese companies’ technologies and services, in collaboration with Vietnamese companies

The consortium will mobilize the technologies and expertise of Japanese companies and collaborate with Vietnamese companies to solve social issues facing citizens of Hanoi City, including: environmental health such as air and water quality, improved daily health, advanced safety and security, high-standard education, and comfortable enriched communities.

A town that helps people and the community achieve smart and prosperous growth

In an effort to achieve zero-emission¹ urban development using advanced technologies based on solid basic infrastructure (water, electricity, and transportation) to solve social issues in Vietnam, the consortium will provide residents with lush greenery, parks, and other open spaces, waterways, and a street lined with cherry blossom trees, as well as hospitals, schools, and commercial facilities. Additionally, using application-based residential services as a hub, the consortium will create a safe and comfortable residential environment that is unique to a town developed by Japanese companies, with the goal of developing a town that helps people and the community achieve smart and prosperous growth. The town will allow local community residents to work together and solve issues in their daily lives and continue to improve their living standards.

Urban development with an open platform for companies in and outside Vietnam

The consortium will work on the sophistication of smart city services, including mobility for commuters by proposing optimum routes, security based on advanced recognition systems, optimization of energy management at every house using a data integration platform, online diagnosis, and real-time disaster prevention, to develop a town where people can live with safe mind even amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The consortium will also develop the town as an open platform so that start-ups and companies considering doing business in Vietnam can use living lab services², leveraging information of the town to offer new values to residents and visitors. The goal is to attract companies both in and outside Vietnam to the smart city for the sustainable development of Hanoi City.

The six companies will study specific services and town management in the areas of community, mobility, energy, and digital infrastructure³ by using their strengths. By consolidating the respective companies’ knowledge and drawing on external advice and cooperation, the consortium will determine the direction of the project and collaborate with Vietnamese companies.

Under its Medium-Term Management Plan 2020 initiated in April 2018, Sumitomo Corporation regards social infrastructure as one of its growth areas, and is increasingly focusing on urban development, including smart city projects, and various infrastructure projects. Through this town development, residents will work together to solve issues in their lives and continue to improve the elements that are necessary for the development of the town. Such development will be the fundamentals of the sustainable urban development what Sumitomo Corporation aims. Through this project, Sumitomo Corporation will respond to the demand for urbanization driven by economic and population growth in Vietnam and present the world with a role model in which only private companies build a town from scratch to contribute to the economic and industrial development of Vietnam and the world.

¹ Zero emission: An initiative to eliminate the emission of waste that has impacts on the atmosphere, such as environmental pollution and climate change

² Living lab services: Eco systems for open innovation, where each company conducts behavioral surveys and demonstration experiments based on data provided by residents, and uses the results to develop products, while residents can use new technologies and the latest products

³ Digital Infrastructure: Integrated IoT platform which combines, accumulates and analyzes various data from a wide variety of sensors and devices installed in cities and facilities. It also performs a series of processing such as protecting privacy and security, and managing the devices.

■ Collaboration system among the six companies

■ Vison and core values of the project

Sumitomo Corporation’s Material Issues

Sumitomo Corporation Group positions “Six Material Issues to Achieve Sustainable Growth with Society” as an important factor in developing business strategies and in the decision-making process for individual businesses. Going forward, we will pursue sustainable growth by resolving these issues through our business activities. This project especially contributes to the following material Issues.

Achieving Harmony with the Global Environment

To realize recycling-oriented society and mitigate climate change, we are working to establish frameworks for the efficient use of resources and stable supply of renewable energy. In doing so, we will achieve growth in harmony with the global environment.

Contributing to the Development of Local Communities and Industries

We steadily procure and provide goods and services to meet the needs of people in various countries and regions and contribute to developing industrial platforms. Through these means, we will create a virtuous cycle in which we can grow and develop together with local communities.

Establishing a Foundation for Comfortable and Enriching Lifestyles

We strive to realize more convenient and comfortable lifestyles by providing goods and services for daily use while also responding to needs for high-quality lifestyles in order to support the physical and mental health of people around the world.

Providing Diverse “Accessibility”

We provide diverse accessibility to open up the possibility of creating new value. To this end, we will improve mobility for safe and efficient flow of people and goods, and expand the network connecting information and finance.

Developing Human Resources and Promoting Diversity

In order to create new value and innovation by allowing our diverse personnel to fully exercise their abilities in a variety of fields, we will promote the development and empowerment of human resources, which represent our most important management resources.

Enhancing Governance

We will enhance our ability to draft and implement strategies for achieving sustainable growth and to provide appropriate supervision of these strategies, all while maintaining transparency. In this manner, we will improve management efficiency and maintain sound management.