Three Vietnamese corporations are willing to cover the whole cost of the zoning plan of the riparian areas on both sides of the Red river crossing Hanoi, Zing.vn quoted Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung as saying at a meeting with voters in Hoan Kiem district on July 17.

"The three conglomerates include Geleximco, Sun Group and Vingroup. They have shown interest in financing the zoning plan on both sides of the Red river. Some have already invited foreign experts to work on the plan," Chung said.

Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung. Photo: Zing

The zoning plan has been an issue of concern for Hanoi since the 2000s, Chung said, adding that the municipal government had invited South Korean designers and consultants to work on the zoning plan. South Korea’s Seoul even donated Hanoi city a design worth US$5 million for the Red river banks.

The city missed a beat to solve the plan on both sides of the Red river in December 2017 due to legal changes, the mayor said.

In order to remove obstacles for the zoning plan, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue had a working session with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on July 8. Currently, the city is actively working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to map out the anti-flood plan and report it to the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, Chung said.

He added that since 2016, the city has openly called for funding from local and foreign businesses for such a plan

The mayor acknowledged that the city is falling short of financial resources to build two back dikes in the river section through urban districts. The city also does not have enough resources to relocate nearly one million people living on the riparian areas on both sides of the Red river in accordance with the Dike Law.

Chung said the city has an idea to build a dyke and roads in the dyke crown along the river. These two routes will connect with bridges spanning the river and alluvial plains to develop eco-tourism and reduce traffic congestion.

In recent years, Hanoi has prepared infrastructure for the eventual urban development in the riparian areas by building bridges crossing the Red river.

Most recently, the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture has made public the architecture plan of Tu Lien bridge, connecting Dong Anh district and Tay Ho district. The municipal government is also considering two options of either to build Tran Hung Dao bridge or a tunnel crossing the Red river to link Hoan Kiem and Long Bien districts.