Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 14 chaired a meeting between the permanent Government members and leaders of Hanoi to review and provide feedback on the draft Hanoi Capital Master Plan with a 100-year vision.
The meeting was attended by Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Duy Ngoc, deputy prime ministers, leaders of ministries and central agencies, and representatives of the Hanoi municipal government.
At the meeting, PM Chinh praised Hanoi’s efforts in simultaneously developing three major strategic documents, namely a draft Politburo resolution on the capital’s development in a new era, a draft revised Capital Law to be submitted to the National Assembly, and the Hanoi Capital Master Plan.
He described the Politburo resolution as the political foundation, the revised Capital Law as the legal foundation, and the master plan as the spatial foundation for development.
The PM stressed that the master plan must reflect Vietnamese wisdom, culture and identity while serving as a key driver for the capital’s future development and that of the entire region and the country.
According to the Government leader, the philosophy of the plan must place people at the centre and as the driving force of development, and Hanoi should aim to become a prosperous, civilised and modern city that preserves its cultural identity.
He also highlighted the need for a multi-centre, multi-layer, green and smart urban structure that harmonises people, culture, society and nature, preserving the traditional character of “villages in the city and city in villages.”
Among the strategic priorities he outlined were comprehensive urban renewal, modernisation of rural areas, smart services, advanced industry, expanded underground infrastructure, optimised land use, airport-driven economic development, restoration of rivers and ecosystems, improved environmental management and traffic solutions, and stronger development of cultural and creative industries.
The PM also suggested that Hanoi consider building a planning exhibition centrr to publicly display the capital’s master plan, enhance oversight and attract investment while serving as a tourism attraction.
To ensure feasibility, he emphasised the need to prioritise projects with strong spillover effects and mobilise diverse financial resources, including public-private partnerships, BOT and BT models, transit-oriented development mechanisms, bond issuance, and dedicated funds such as social housing funds.
He reaffirmed that domestic resources would play the decisive and long-term role, while international resources would serve as an important catalyst in implementing the capital’s development vision.
According to reports and opinions at the meeting, Hanoi previously developed two parallel planning systems - the Capital Plan under the 2017 Planning Law and the Hanoi General Plan under the 2024 Urban and Rural Planning Law, which led to overlaps and inconsistencies between socio-economic development strategies and spatial planning. Several long-standing issues such as traffic congestion, flooding and environmental pollution have yet to be fully resolved, leading to inefficient use of resources.
To adapt to the two-tier local government model, the trend of smart urban development and increasing regional and international connectivity, Hanoi is now focusing on building a single comprehensive master plan for the capital with a long-term vision of 100 years. The plan aims to establish a unified legal foundation and create new development momentum for the city.
The initiative follows Resolution No. 258/2025/QH15 adopted by the National Assembly on December 11, 2025, which allows the formulation of an integrated capital master plan combining the Capital Plan and the Hanoi General Plan.
The planning timeline includes short-term development through 2035, medium-term goals to 2045, long-term orientation to 2065, and a strategic vision for the next 100 years.
The draft plan proposes 11 breakthrough solutions, including strengthening regional connectivity, building a “core–satellite” urban model with Hanoi as the central city driving development across the Capital Region, the Red River Delta and the Northern Key Economic Region, and expanding urban railway systems alongside transit-oriented development (TOD).
Other key priorities include developing new growth poles to ease population pressure in the inner city, building smart, green and sustainable urban systems, comprehensive urban renewal, multi-layer spatial development, unlocking the development potential of the Red River as a symbolic axis of the capital, expanding airport infrastructure, addressing environmental pollution, and establishing land reserves to support long-term growth.
The plan identifies nine development poles, nine major centres and nine key development corridors, connected through ring roads and economic corridors to strengthen regional and international links, including connections to border gates and seaports. It also outlines cultural and heritage landscapes along the Da River, Red River and Duong River, as well as a western green heritage belt linking natural attractions and historical sites./.
