After the Capital’s administrative border is expanded, the Vietnamese Government decided to devise a master plan on building the Capital by 2030 with a vision up to 2050. It is an important issue that not only has effect on the future of the Capital but also relates to the fortune of the country. Nguyen Dinh Toan, Deputy Minister of Construction, said that firstly a suitable urban space must be created, then the sustainable development of the Capital must be oriented and managed. According to this planning orientation, the Capital will develop in the model of many urban areas, including a core urban area and satellite urban areas that are linked together by a belt transport system and centripetal axis and have connectivity with the capital and national transport network.
The core urban area is the centre of politics, history, culture, service and high-quality training. Its inner area is defined to continue expanding to the belt Road 4 to the south, and to the north of the Red River with the districts of Me Linh, Dong Anh, Gia Lam and Long Bien, with the aim of solving the existing issues on urban infrastructure and over population. The core historical urban area (including the Old Quarter, old streets, the areas of belt 3 and the green belt of the Nhue River) with a system of heritage sites, the political area of Ba Dinh and the relic site of Thang Long Imperial Citadel is to be strictly preserved and supervised to affirm the stature of the supreme political power centre of the whole country and promote the cultural and historical values of the thousand-year-old Capital. At the same time, much attention must be paid to preserving the Old Quarter, old streets, urban structure, typical architectural style of each area and typical works, such as the Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi Railway Station, relics and landscape around the West Lake.
Besides the core centre, the system of five satellite urban areas of the Capital will be built and developed based on the current urban areas, namely Son Tay, Xuan Mai, Phu Xuyen-Phu Minh and Soc Son. Hoa Lac alone is a new urban area that is the centre of science and the most advanced technology of Vietnam, training high-quality human resources for the whole country. Each satellite urban area has a typical function to support the core urban area in terms of housing, high-quality training, industry and services. Ecological towns will develop from the current towns in the model of ecological urban area with control and limitations in terms of scale, function and space. These towns will support public utilities and infrastructure, promote production, develop the economy and society in rural areas and serve as a bridge connecting the urban and rural areas.
Hanoi with its new stature in the 21st century will become a traditional and modern city, a large centre of politics, economics, culture, science-technology and international relations.