A part of Hạ Long City in the coastal province of Quảng Ninh. The city is envisioned to become a modern sea resort city and international service-tourism centre. VNA/VNS Photo Lê Anh Dũng

QUẢNG NINH The People’s Committee of Hạ Long City in the northern coastal province of Quảng Ninh on Monday announced adjustments to the city’s overall planning to 2040.

The adjustments are made with the goal of enhancing the role and position of Quảng Ninh Province and Hạ Long City, home to the World Heritage site of Hạ Long Bay. They are designed to help Hạ Long develop in a sustainable manner, meeting requirements of green growth and adaptation to climate change.

Hạ Long is envisioned to become a modern and friendly sea resort city and an international-class service-tourism centre, in tandem with preserving and promoting the value of Hạ Long Bay.

The area subject to the planning covers 27,753.9 ha of land within the administrative boundary of Hạ Long City, with some adjacent localities also targeted for research.

Hạ Long City, projected to have a population of 570,000-600,000 by 2030, will be developed under the model of a multi-polar city. The Cửa Lục Bay will be the centre of connectivity, while urban development will focus on the corridor along the coast of Hạ Long Bay, divided into four zones.

In the north, there will be an urban area connected to the natural ecological system of Cửa Lục Bay; while in the south, the southern Hoành Bồ area in Hoành Bồ District will be turned into an eco-service urban areas supporting Hạ Long City.

The development zone in the east will serve as the city’s administrative, commercial and cultural centre, and the western zone will accommodate tourism, service, industry and port. Further to the west there will be international-class tourism-service centres and education and sport facilities in combination with urban areas.

Regarding directions for industrial production, the city will shift to industrial clusters and logistic and storage services. It will build the Việt Hưng hi-tech park, turn the Cái Lân industrial park into a hub of clean industries and in the long-term, a complex of urban and port services, and upgrade the Hà Khánh industrial cluster. Open mines will be restored and converted into greenery, golf courses, tourism sites and ecological urban areas.

For the tourism sector, Hạ Long City will develop entertainment facilities, high-class resorts, marinas and cruiser ports meeting international standards in the Bãi Cháy-Hùng Thắng areas. Cultural tourism will be developed in Hòn Gai, while eco-tourism and resort facilities are planned for the Tuần Châu and Đại Yên areas.

The city aims to attract investment in high-class hotels, resorts and entertainment parks. It will designate 524ha of land for building resorts, hotels and other types of accommodation.

At the announcement ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Cao Tường Huy required Hạ Long City’s authorities to build detailed development plans based on the overall planning, along with schemes on attracting investment and arranging capital.

He instructed that priority should be given to areas and zones that can create quick and effective impacts on Hạ Long’s overall development.

Huy added that the city should also revise previous plans to make them in line with the adjusted overall planning and quickly build regulations and necessary tools to ensure that the implementation of the adjusted planning meets schedule.

The adjustments were approved in the Prime Minister’s Decision 702/QD-TTg issued on June 7 this year. VNS