On June 23, the People's Committee of Dien Bien Province issued Decision No. 1291/QD-UBND on licensing a controlled trial (sandbox) of products and services applying digital technology to develop the low-altitude economy using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the province.
This is the first sandbox model for developing the low-altitude economy using UAVs deployed at the local level, contributing to evaluating practical effectiveness and perfecting mechanisms and policies for developing the low-altitude space economy in the coming time.
According to the Decision, the Department of Science and Technology of Dien Bien takes the lead, coordinating with provincial departments, branches, and related units to organize, guide, and inspect the implementation of the project in the province.
Vietnam Post Corporation (Vietnam Post) is the unit leading the implementation and trial operation; FPT Group, along with other UAV manufacturers, participates in technical responsibility, providing technology solutions, UAV equipment, and flight control software systems.
Dien Bien aims to deploy about 6,000 UAV flights during the trial period, striving for a safe flight rate of over 99%. At the same time, the province will gradually form a database for flight management, flight monitoring, digital mapping, and digital terrain modeling within the trial scope.
Also participating are enterprises providing UAV operation, repair, and maintenance services, as well as organizations, cooperatives, enterprises, and residents in Dien Bien province, serving as application, beneficiary, and coordination units for evaluating the model's effectiveness.
The trial program is implemented from the effective date of the Decision until May 31, 2027, focusing on four fields: agriculture, logistics, healthcare, and digital surveying and mapping.
Trial activities include transporting agricultural products, agricultural materials, medicines, medical supplies, test samples, and essential goods; supporting seeding, pesticide spraying, fertilization, crop growth monitoring, and pest detection; terrain surveying, digital mapping, and digital elevation model (DEM) construction.
Dien Bien aims to deploy about 6,000 UAV flights during the trial period, striving for a safe flight rate of over 99%. At the same time, the province will gradually form a database for flight management, flight monitoring, digital mapping, and digital terrain modeling within the trial scope.
The sandbox activities are deployed in some key agricultural and medical production areas of the province. In agriculture, trial locations include tea-growing areas in Sinh Phinh commune, coffee areas in Muong Ang, macadamia areas in Tuan Giao, and rice cultivation areas in Thanh Nua.
In the healthcare sector, the province will establish an emergency transport network using UAVs connecting Muong Ang Medical Center with Na Tau commune health stations and Muong Dang, Ngoi Cay, Ang To health stations to transport medicines, medical supplies, and pathological samples, contributing to improving residents' access to medical services.
According to the Decision, all flight activities within the trial scope must be registered, appraised, and approved in accordance with current regulations; ensuring compliance with requirements for national defense, security, airspace management, flight safety, radio frequency management, information security, and public order and safety.
In the initial phase, flight permits are proposed to be issued monthly for evaluation and experience accumulation before considering expansion in subsequent phases.
The implementation of the sandbox model for developing the low-altitude economy using UAVs in Dien Bien is expected to generate important data and practical experience, serving as a basis for evaluating socio-economic effectiveness, organizational and operational capacity, risk management, as well as proposing improvements to mechanisms and policies to promote the development of the low-altitude space economy in Vietnam in the coming time.
