Saigon considers multi-million dollar smart transportation system

Cameras would enable the city to control congestion and reduce traffic accidents.

Vietnam’s southern business hub Saigon is thinking about installing a smart system to control traffic following a proposal made by a U.S. company at a meeting with the city’s top officials on Monday.

The system, which costs $300 million, can automatically recognize number plates and distinguish fake plates, measure traffic volume and detect vehicles that are driving in the wrong lane.

Tran Vinh Tuyen, vice chairman of the city’s People Committee, is a fan of the system after seeing it in action during a working trip to the U.S.

“The cameras can scan number plates to record every single vehicle on the street and detect traffic violations or suspects,” Tuyen said.

Tuyen has asked U.S. investors to chalk out a specific plan in terms of capital and the investment incentives they expect to submit to the city's People’s Committee, the municipal administration, in October.

If approved, the system will be set up in urban districts before being expanded to suburban areas.

By Huu Cong / VnExpress