An aerial view of the urban landscape of Hưng Yên City. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

By Quang Nhiều

HƯNG YÊN — The northern province of Hưng Yên is accelerating urbanisation efforts, focusing on expanding a network of urban areas and developing large, ecological, smart and modern urban zones.

Alongside this, the province is also prioritising the development of residential areas, commercial and social housing, especially for workers and labourers. These initiatives aim to help the province achieve an urbanisation rate of 60-65 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050, with Hưng Yên among the leading localities in the country.

According to the Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyễn Hùng Nam, the provincial master plan has been approved by the Prime Minister. Under this plan, Hưng Yên will have three central urban areas: Hưng Yên City, Văn Giang and Mỹ Hào.

Hưng Yên City is set to become the central urban area of the province and its southern region, functioning as the administrative, political, economic, social, cultural, tourism, education-training and scientific-technological centre of the entire province. It will connect with Kim Đồng District in the northern part of the province to develop ecological urban and tourism areas along the Red River and link with Tiên Lữ District in the east, to develop service, science, training and startup centres.

Meanwhile, Văn Giang will serve as the urban hub of the northern part of the province, advancing in an ecological, smart and modern direction, leveraging the advantages of Hà Nội’s Belt Roads 3.5 and 4. Văn Giang District will also become a regional centre for economy, culture, science and technology, education and training and serve as a crucial traffic and exchange hub for the Hà Nội Capital Region, the northern key economic zone, the Red River Delta and the entire country.

Mỹ Hào is intended as the central urban area in the northern region, developing into an industrial, commercial and residential city with a smart, modern approach. Its growth is closely tied to the national infrastructure system within the province's industrial-urban corridor and the north-south-eastern development axis, connecting Mỹ Hào, Ân Thi and Phù Cừ with the Hà Nội-Hải Phòng Expressway. This new link will boost industrial, urban, service and logistics development.

According to Chairman of Văn Giang District People's Committee, Nguyễn Văn Tuấn, Văn Giang is developing rapidly, with many large-scale, modern urban and residential projects such as Dream City (approximately 450 hectares), Xuân Cầu Ecological Garden City (198 hectares) and the Đại An and Bách Giang urban areas.

A view of the Văn Giang commercial and tourism urban area (Ecopark). VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

Notably, the Văn Giang commercial and tourism urban area (Ecopark), spanning nearly 500 hectares, is recognised as a green, clean, beautiful and desirable place to live.

With the goal of becoming a class-three standard urban area by 2025, Văn Giang District has established and implemented specific resolutions and action programmes. These initiatives include Resolution No 08 of the 24th District Party Committee on the urban development master plan for Văn Giang District for the 2016-2020 period, with a vision towards 2030 and Resolution No 02 of the 25th District Party Committee on urban and housing development.

Currently, Văn Giang has eight major urban development projects, covering a total planned area of approximately 2,200 hectares, with a projected population of around 260,000 people. Additionally, several universities, such as Hà Nội Open University, the British University Việt Nam and Tokyo Medical University, have begun construction.

However, urban development in Văn Giang District faces several challenges. It lacks connectivity and doesn’t fully capitalise on its proximity to the capital, the transportation system still falls short of meeting development needs and a significant portion of the labour force remains in rural areas.

Tuấn said to gradually overcome these challenges and transform Văn Giang into a civilised, modern and ecological urban area, the district was focusing on key projects on developing general infrastructure and dynamic urban functional areas, such as major transportation routes, the central administrative area and surrounding regions.

The district was also accelerating the implementation of ongoing urban development projects, utilising natural resources to create an ecological foundation for urban growth and completing urban landscape corridors along the East-West axis.

In addition, the district planned to put into operation various urban, ecological tourism and high-tech agricultural projects in the Red River floodplain area to boost service, tourism and employment opportunities.

The district would also expedite land clearance for transportation and implement action programmes to develop handicrafts, commerce and services, generating more jobs for workers. Efforts to promote administrative reform and build e-government would contribute to creating a favourable investment environment and to improving the district's provincial competitiveness index, he said. — VNS