Soc Son District People's Committee seeks public opinions on the 1/500 scale detailed planning project for the multifunctional entertainment complex and horse racing track in Tan Minh and Phu Linh communes and Soc Son Town.

The potential site for the upcoming horse racing complex. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Stakeholders, including government agencies and locals, are invited to provide their opinions on the rationale, necessity, and objectives of the planning; the suitability of land use planning; the spatial organization diagram, landscape architecture, urban design, and traffic connectivity between the racecourse and neighboring areas.

The consultation period will run from December 26, 2023, to February 4, 2024. Based on the feedback received, the planning unit will analyze and incorporate suggestions to adjust the planning project to ensure it aligns with the local context, meeting the development needs of the area and the capital city. The detailed planning must also be done according to the overall master plan for the construction of the capital city and Soc Son’s 1/2,000-scale urban zoning plan for Soc Son.

The horse racing project in Hanoi was initially studied in 1999, with the proposed locations being Dai Kim Ward (Hoang Mai District) and Thanh Liet Ward (Thanh Tri District). However, this project has come to a standstill due to incomplete legal frameworks for gambling and horse racing,

Horse training in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highland) province of Lam Dong. Photo: An Thanh/The Hanoi Times

In 2007, Hanoi Tourist Corporation and the Global Consultant Network Company (South Korea) proposed re-examining the project. In September 2019, the Prime Minister approved the investment policy.

In 2020, Hanoi added the multifunctional entertainment complex and horse racing track project in Soc Son to the adjusted framework for the overall socioeconomic development plan of the capital city until 2020, with a vision for 2030.

The estimated investment for the multi-function entertainment complex and horse racing track project in Soc Son is $500 million and is expected to create around 5,000 direct and 20,000 to 25,000 indirect jobs. The racecourse was originally planned to be operational after 2021 but faced difficulties, and its implementation has been delayed. In mid-2022, Hanoi proposed to the Prime Minister to address the challenges in reclaiming 125 hectares of land for the project.