HCMC – HCMC will introduce a geographic information system (GIS) to manage house numbering, but residents will keep their current addresses, according to the HCMC Digital Transformation Center (HCMC – DXCENTER).
Nguyen Tran Phu Thinh, deputy director of the HCMC – DXCENTER, announced the plan on March 5 during a briefing on the city’s socioeconomic situation.
House number data is currently scattered across multiple agencies. There is no unified software platform for centralized management or data sharing, and the information has not been standardized under the city’s updated administrative boundaries, Thinh said.
Following direction from the HCMC People’s Committee, the Digital Transformation Center is working with relevant agencies to develop a GIS-based platform to manage house numbers and share data across departments.
In the first quarter of this year, the city will assess the application of the GIS model for assigning and installing house number plates in An Khanh Ward. Authorities will also expand surveys to several wards with different urban characteristics, including established residential areas, new urban development projects, and low-density neighborhoods with large land plots.
The approach aims to test the system under different conditions, from densely populated areas to zones still undergoing urbanization.
Thinh emphasized that the use of the new technology will not require residents to change their existing house numbers.
When the system becomes operational, house numbering data will be shared through the “HCMC Digital Citizen” application. Residents will be able to look up address information and report discrepancies compared with actual conditions. Reports will be handled online to update and improve the data.
According to the HCMC Digital Citizen, the GIS system will replace the previous manual management method, which was fragmented and slow to update. Each house number will be linked directly to a specific land plot or building on a digital map, helping reduce errors, duplication, or overlap when issuing new numbers.
Once standardized and integrated with land and population databases, the system will also be able to detect duplicate street names or house numbers within administrative areas and issue warnings to prevent overlaps.
Authorities expect the platform to support urban management, particularly when administrative boundaries change or new urban areas are developed.
In the longer term, the GIS-based house numbering database could be integrated with other datasets using location identification, laying the groundwork for a digital twin model for urban management.
With shared spatial data across departments such as construction, natural resources and environment, police, and local authorities, the system could support activities including construction monitoring, land management, healthcare, education, and fire prevention, while improving the accuracy of online public services and reducing paperwork.
