Local residents are urgently moving their belongings and handing over the land to facilitate the construction of the road connecting Cầu Giấy Street to the Dịch Vọng New Urban Area in Hà Nội.— VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thắng

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội authorities are planning the relocation of more than 860,000 residents living within Ring Road 3 between 2026 and 2045 under a far-reaching proposal to reshape the capital’s urban space and underpin sustainable long-term development.

The plan is detailed in a report by the municipal People’s Committee on key components of the Capital’s Master Plan with a 100-year vision, submitted to the municipal People’s Council for consideration at its 31st session.

During the 2026–35 phase, the city proposes relocating about 200,000 residents from the Hồng (Red) River area, a further 200,000 from the West Lake area and surrounding neighbourhoods and around 42,000 people from selected streets within Ring Road 3.

In the following period from 2036 to 2045, an estimated 26,730 residents would be moved from the historic Old Quarter, about 23,000 from older inner-city districts and roughly 370,000 from other areas within Ring Road 3.

Overall, the proposal envisages the relocation of more than 860,000 people over two decades to support urban restructuring and the creation of a more sustainable capital.

The People’s Committee said existing planning frameworks, including the Capital Planning for 2021–30 with a vision to 2050 and the Capital Master Plan to 2045 with a vision to 2065, no longer meet emerging development requirements.

A comprehensive review and adjustment are therefore required to ensure alignment with the national master plan and higher-level planning frameworks.

Under the proposed changes, Hà Nội would redefine its spatial structure and strategic infrastructure while reorganising cultural, historical and landscape spaces along major river corridors such as the Đà, Red, and Đuống rivers.

The plan also seeks to tackle long-standing urban challenges including flooding, traffic congestion and environmental pollution.

A central strategic direction set out in the report is a shift towards a multi-polar, multi-centre urban development model combined with a multi-layered urban structure.

This approach is intended to redistribute population, production spaces, services and infrastructure, easing pressure on the historic inner city.

Municipal authorities stressed that urban restructuring is not simply about relocating residents but represents a fundamental shift in thinking on architecture, landscape, housing and heritage.

The aim is to move beyond preservation and incremental upgrades towards value-based redevelopment, addressing deep-seated infrastructure bottlenecks that have persisted for many years.

The proposed restructuring area lies largely within Ring Road 3, with priority given to zones inside Ring Roads 1 and 2.

Areas earmarked for restructuring alongside conservation and enhancement include the Ba Đình political and administrative centre, Hoàn Kiếm Lake and its surroundings, the Old Quarter and older inner-city districts, the West Lake area and adjacent zones and both banks of the Red River linked to major landscape axes.

In parallel, Hà Nội plans to reorganise population distribution by reducing density in the inner city.

Residents affected by clearance and relocation would be partly resettled on site, with others moved to new urban areas in designated growth poles such as Đông Anh, Gia Lâm and Hòa Lạc.

These areas are slated for coordinated investment in infrastructure and public services including schools, hospitals and parks, with the aim of delivering living conditions better than those in former homes.

The People’s Committee estimates that total resources needed to implement the overall adjustment of the two major plans during 2026–45 will reach about VNĐ64.84 quadrillion (US$2.48 trillion).

For the 2026–35 phase, capital demand is put at around VNĐ14.5 quadrillion ($553 billion), of which nearly VNĐ1.97 quadrillion ($75.2 billion) would come from the city’s public investment budget for infrastructure development and urgent social needs, with the remainder expected to be mobilised from the private sector.

During 2036–45, capital requirements are projected to rise to about VNĐ50.34 quadrillion ($1.92 trillion), to be funded through a combination of municipal public investment and private capital. — VNS