Ho Chi Minh City launches $101 million digitisation project for 50 years of archives

Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee approved a multi‑phase plan to digitise municipal archival records dating from 1975 to mid‑2025. The project will cover about 75,371 linear metres of shelving – roughly 603 million pages – split between permanent records at the city’s Historical Archives Centre and documents held by provincial and commune agencies.

Phase 1 (2026‑2030) will digitise 54,348 m (≈435 million pages) from 159 agencies at a cost of about VND1.925 trillion (US$73 million). Phase 2 (2031‑2035) will process a further 21,023 m (≈168 million pages) from 181 agencies, costing roughly VND744.7 billion (US$28 million). Funding comes from the state budget, with priority given to permanently preserved, historically significant, frequently requested, and day‑to‑day administrative files. Once digitised, the data will be uploaded to an electronic records‑management system and linked to the city’s shared information platforms.