Hanoi has been active in building two back dikes in the Red river section through urban districts and in the relocation of nearly one million inhabitants along the river; however, it still needs to ensure sustainable development in the riparian areas, Kinh Te & Do Thi quoted architect Tran Huy Anh as saying.

The Red river flows 510 kilometers in the Vietnamese territory, of which its more than 120km runs through Hanoi. To start the riparian development, Hanoi should pilot the plan in a short section of the river (1-2 km) through the downtown districts.

The park in the middle of a river in China’s Zhejiang city and an idea for residential area outside Hanoi’s Red river dike. Source: City Solution

The municipal government can refer to the solutions of the CitySolution group (comprised of Vietnamese and international urban experts) such as safe zoning, creating an ecological self-control unit, ensuring all three factors of sustainable development (urban area, rural area and environment).

Besides, it must ensure safety from three water levels of +10: + 11m to +14m, by building three layers of concrete dikes. All residents will resettle on ground +20m above the sea level.

The alluvial plain in the middle of the Red river is planned to become a 50-hectare park, bigger than Thong Nhat park (40ha) in the downtown. In the dry season, this place will be a safe park for everyone’s recreation. In the rainy season, it will be a rescue training field for the militias and voluntary youth.

The project is expected to generate billions of US dollars In public assets, which will help increase the dynamism of the local economy and create jobs in the context of the global recession. This solution meets the essential requirements of the flood prevention and dike planning, not only for the next 300 - 500 years but also for 700 - 1,000 years, adapting to extreme climate change to the highest level.

Hanoi is facing the serious shortage of waste landfill, thus, this location can be taken immediately to experiment with a model of non-waste urban development.

In action

In July, Hanoi’s authorities actively worked with relevant ministries and agencies to accelerate the zoning plan of the riparian areas on both sides of the Red river crossing the capital city.

On July 17, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said that the zoning plan has been an issue of concern for Hanoi since the 2000s.

Hanoi mayor added 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, Chung 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.

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.