HÀ NỘI — The BRG-Sumitomo joint venture and authorities in Hà Nội have intensified efforts to kick off construction on Hà Nội’s mega smart city project this December.

The BRG-Sumitomo joint venture and Japanese consultancy unit Nikken Sekkei held a working session with the Hà Nội People’s Committee to report on the implementation of the Nhật Tân-Nội Bài smart city project and listen to instructive comments from city officials to soon start work on the project.

The investors expect that construction on the US$4.2 billion project could begin this December if they receive approval and the land on time.

Hà Nội will try its best to ensure the most favourable conditions in administrative procedures, land acquisition, as well as infrastructure development, paving the way for the joint venture to deploy the project without a hitch.

In May 2018, a Vietnamese-Japanese consortium consisting of four Vietnamese enterprises led by BRG and Sumitomo submitted a proposal to build a smart city to the Hà Nội People’s Committee.

The consortium proposed establishing five companies to execute five component projects, which are scheduled to start this year and be completed in 2030.

The smart city project is set to cover an area of 272ha in Hà Nội’s outlying district of Đông Anh, connecting with the city centre via the Nhật Tân-Nội Bài axis.

In the first phase, the Sumitomo-BRG joint venture will pour over $1 billion into facilities on an area of 73ha.

According to BRG’s chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Nga, once completed, the smart city will become a landmark development in Hà Nội’s gateway, driving urbanisation in the northern Red River area, creating numerous jobs and propelling the city’s socio-economic development.

Earlier, the co-operation agreement between the Hà Nội’s People’s Committee, BRG Group and Sumitomo Corporation to develop the smart city project was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc during his official visit to Japan in June 2017. — VNS