Experts asserted that the Red River Zoning Plan, once realized, would transform Hanoi’s landscape and create new driving forces for socio-economic development. 

Red River's riparian areas. Photo: Thanh Hai/ The Hanoi Times

In late March, the Hanoi People's Committee approved the 1/5,000-scale Red River Zoning Plan from Hong Ha Bridge to Me So Bridge, which covers an area of nearly 11,000 hectares in 13 districts.

Under the plan, the new urban space across the two sides of the Red River would stretch 40 kilometers, from Hong Ha Bridge to Me So Bridge under the administrative areas of 55 wards from 13 districts, including Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Tay Ho, Bac Tu Liem, Hai Ba Trung, Hoang Mai, Long Bien, Dan Phuong, Me Linh, Dong Anh, Gia Lam, Thuong Tin, and Thanh Tri.

Nguyen Lan Huong, deputy director of the Center for Architectural Planning at the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute, noted that the Red River Zoning Plan brings positive changes compared to previous fragmented plans. She hopes this will help the city resolve specific bottlenecks to development.

In addition to creating a flood drainage space for the downtown area, the two sides of the Red River would be designed as a green landscape with public spaces for cultural, tourism, and entertainment purposes.

According to Huong, the plan would also identify the need to relocate people living in riparian areas, using the vacant land for social and transport infrastructure projects.

"A spatial axis of green trees and water surfaces that make up nearly 80% of the surroundings of the Red River would be the key factor for the area to become a green landscape for Hanoi," Huong said.

Vice General Secretary of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association (VUPDA) Truong Van Quang stressed the significance of the Red River Zoning Plan in the overall city's development.

Quang mentioned Government Decision No.1259 approving a master construction plan for Hanoi up to 2030, with a vision up to 2050 that has envisioned the city's development as a model of the urban cluster.

The model includes the metropolitan area and five satellite towns (Son Tay, Hoa Lac, Xuan Mai, Phu Xuyen, and Soc Son) interconnected by transport systems of ring roads and centripetal axes linking with national and regional transportation networks.

But for many years, the development of satellite towns remains stagnated, Quang said.

"The development of Hanoi is facing many issues, including greater complexity in terms of technical requirements in promoting urban residential areas, infrastructure projects, or urban spaces. In this regard, comprehensive planning would be essential to establishing a modern urban city," Quang added.

Promoting real estate market development

In a recent conference, the Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), Nguyen Van Dinh, suggested planning is a basis for effective land management and potentially raising the value of the real estate in the area.

Deputy Head of the Office of Hanoi's Department of Planning and Architecture Tran Viet Thang said the Red River Zoning Plan would be requisite for establishing infrastructure projects toward the North and East of the Red River.

Thang added that Ba Dinh and Hoan Kiem districts are expected to develop entertainment spaces in the riparian areas.

"The city also plans to attract investment projects in trade and services in the area," said Thang, adding the Red River Zoning Plan would create an opportunity for sustainable real estate investment.

"This would be focused on promoting cultural and entertainment values in association with the agro-tourism ecosystem, given that the Red River remains one of the city's dynamic areas," Thang added.

Dinh from VARS, however, raises the issues of resources needed to realize the plan's potential, for which he called for priority in essential infrastructure projects with funding from the state budgets, such as schools, hospitals, trade, and entertainment services.

"An adequate social and technical infrastructure available would make the areas more attractive in the eyes of investors, contributing to the development of the real estate market overall," he said.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association (VNREA) added the Red River Zoning Plan remains one of the critical breakthroughs for Hanoi, urging soon implementation of the plan or risk losing the potential from the land funds in riparian areas for urban development.