[HÀ NỘI — An ambitious development plan to breathe new life into the West Lake area has been given the green light.

The programme includes permitting more water sports on the lake itself and allowing more leisure services, including golf courses, to be built in the surrounding area.

Paddleboarding on West Lake. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Sơn

Sports activities allowed to operate again include boat racing tournaments, paragliding, canoeing, water biking, jet-ski and windsurfing. 

Leisure services allowed to operate include hot air balloons, floating restaurants and boating. However, visitors are not allowed to stay overnight on any boats moored on the lake.

Enterprises can also register to operate performing arts services, traditional festivals and water musical performances.

Along with that, the city allows electric vehicles, bicycles, and cyclos to operate on walking routes around West Lake.

Spanning 526 hectares, Hồ Tây is the largest freshwater lake in the capital city, located northwest of the city center. The lake is an iconic attraction for citizens and visitors with 71 historical and cultural relics located in its surroundings. 

Hà Nội People's Committee has approved regulations to preserve and promote the potential values ​​and advantages of West Lake, contributing to building the district into a service - tourism - culture centre of the capital city.

To maintain the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the lake, Hà Nội requires the relevant units and departments to manage the West Lake environment, including landscape renovation, wastewater management, and lake surface cleaning. 

The regulations state that Tây Hồ District will operate a management board to present a comprehensive management approach, coordinating with other departments and branches to manage and exploit service at West Lake.

In previous years, there were some services in West Lake such as floating restaurants and yachts. However, these vehicles and facilities do not meet conditions for fire prevention and inspected operation. Several vehicles and floating restaurants regularly discharge waste, causing serious pollution to the water environment and killing tonnes of fish in West Lake. 

In 2017, Hà Nội decided to stop providing services within the management scope of West Lake.– VNS