Hanoi aims to complete zoning plans by 2015

One of Hanoi’s major tasks is to complete zoning plans for the entire city by 2015.

Hanoi should make strategic changes in its planning to improve the unsynchronized infrastructure. Many regions of the city have not developed evenly and they lack green space. Therefore, Hanoi’s Municipal Party Committee recently agreed that the major, urgent issue from now until 2015 is to cover all the city planning to mark the 57th anniversary of the capital’s Liberation Day on October 10.

With the master plan for the development of the capital until 2030, with a vision to 2050, approved, the municipal authorities are now trying to complete hundreds of zoning plans in the next four years, aiming to build a modern and civilized capital city.

Lack of concrete strategy leads to “empty” urban areas

Hoang Trong Hanh, former headmaster of the Hanoi University of Architecture, said that due to lack of strategic planning, the capital's development has been slow. For example, 50-80 percent of its capital resources for projects have been used as compensation for clearing sites for “the most expensive roads on the planet” such as Kim Lien-O Cho Dua road which has used VND600 billion for site clearance, six times more money than is required to build the actual road.

In addition, poor transport planning has also caused serious traffic congestion in Hanoi. Since the beginning of the year, Hanoi has added 24,000 cars which is 22 percent of new cars in the country. To cope with this situation, municipal authorities have issued regulations to restrict means of transport, but they realize that these are only temporary solutions.

Mr Hanh added that the most worrying issue is “empty urban areas” that lack schools, kindergartens, trees and public spaces. Without a detailed strategy, there will be major conflicts between Hanoi’s ancient streets and the new urban areas, said Mr Hanh.

After Hanoi expanded its administrative borders, the issue of planning has become more urgent and the time has come to establish an overall long-term plan to create a modern and civilized capital city. The municipal authorities will have greater responsibilities in the future.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ratified a master plan for Hanoi, aimed at building a modern city with satellite urban areas. This has laid the foundation for hundreds of detailed zoning projects but the core matter is how to avoid conflicts and overlaps.

In the immediate period, It is therefore necessary to immediately suspend more than 750 projects in Hanoi’s inner and outlying districts to stop them overlapping before a common plan is drawn up.

Nguyen Doan Hoan, Chairman of the Thach That district People’s Committee, said all communes and agencies in his district have been asked to reconsider projects in various fields in order to implement Hanoi’s common plan.

70 percent of land for public construction

The Hanoi municipal People’s Committee discussed measures to step up the zoning plans for urban construction and management, and considers this one of its five key tasks from now to 2015.

Hanoi aims to complete all zoning plans, in which about 70 percent of land will be allocated for public constructions. The city is expected to complete 17 zoning plans for key urban areas in 2011, and iron out snags related to “empty” urban areas and the present asynchronous technical and social infrastructure.

Nguyen The Thao, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee, showed a strong determination to realize all the zoning plans. Municipal authorities and relevant agencies are making efforts to touch upon every zoning project in the next four years. “However, there is a shortage of qualified human resources involved in the zoning plans. Hanoi will coordinate with the University of Architecture to organize short training courses for officers,” he said.

Since it was liberated 57 years ago, Hanoi has implemented seven zoning plans, however, the city still faces numerous challenges. It is expected that the Prime Minister’s newly-approved master plan until 2030, with a vision to 2050, will remove obstacles and erase the shortcomings of previous plans.

Under the master plan, the capital city will include a central metropolitan area, five satellite urban areas - Hoa Lac, Son Tay, Xuan Mai, Phu Xuyen and Soc Son - and several towns linked together. It will also have modern infrastructure while still retaining its cultural and traditional heritage sites.

Hanoi’s leaders have shown determination to effectively implement zoning plans and help the city fulfill its set targets for industrialization and modernization a couple years ahead of schedule, thus establishing a modern and civilized Hanoi.

Source: VOV