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| Dr. Ngo Viet Nam Son |
In your opinion, how should planning adjustments be viewed after a period of implementation? Does Hue’s case reflect a general trend, or does it have unique characteristics?
In 2023, the Prime Minister approved the planning for Thua Thien Hue Province through 2030, with a vision toward 2050. During the development of that plan, I also participated in the province’s planning advisory council. Along with Hue, 62 other provinces and cities were simultaneously required to adjust their planning in accordance with the integrated planning spirit of the 2017 Planning Law.
By 2025, provinces and cities nationwide had undergone major changes requiring continued planning adjustments. Hue was less affected because it was not merged with another locality, but it still experienced certain impacts that created the need for planning adjustments with a new mindset. There are four main factors affecting Hue.
First, after officially becoming a centrally governed municipality in 2025, Hue needs to supplement strategic orientations corresponding to its new position and responsibilities.
Second is the merger of provinces and cities, reducing the number of administrative units from 63 to around 34. Hue’s non-merger status is an advantage because it saves the time required to reorganize and integrate the administrative apparatus after merging, allowing the city to focus sooner on its core tasks.
Third, like other localities, Hue must streamline its administrative structure and merge departments and sectors. These changes directly affect the organization and implementation of planning.
Fourth is the transition of the local government model from three levels to two levels, while the planning approved in 2023 was still based on a three-level local government model.
Therefore, all these four factors have significant impacts on Hue, making planning adjustments inevitable for it.
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| Green spaces along the heritage river. Photo: Anh Thu |
The planning was approved when Hue was still a province, but it has now become a centrally governed municipality. In your view, what fundamental adjustments does this change in “urban character” require in terms of spatial structure and development orientation?
It is not by coincidence that the central government structured centrally governed municipalities adjacent to one another, such as Hue - Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City - Dong Nai. This upgrade stems from practical demands for linkage and cooperation among core regional urban centers.
The Central Vietnam urban region has characteristics very different from those of the two major urban regions at either end of the country. Land resources in Central Vietnam are narrow, development follows a north-south axis, and the area is divided by western mountainous terrain. Therefore, the region’s spatial structure must also follow a north-south linear arrangement. As a result, the Central Vietnam urban region cannot develop under a single-pole megacity model, but rather as a chain of linked urban centers along the north-south axis, with Hue - Da Nang serving as the core region.
Thus, within the region’s key infrastructure structure, the airport system should not be an extremely large airport, but rather a network of interconnected airports, including Phu Bai - Da Nang - Chu Lai airports. Similarly, the seaport system should also be a linked chain, such as Chan May, Lien Chieu, and Dung Quat. This approach is more suitable for the spatial characteristics of Central Vietnam’s urban areas.
I hope that, as a centrally governed municipality and regional center, Hue can propose that the central government support special mechanisms similar to those granted to Da Nang, especially for projects linking the two cities. For example, to attract strategic investors for transit-oriented development (TOD) urban areas along public transportation routes connecting Hue and Da Nang, special mechanisms for TOD urban development along the corridor should be consistently applied to both localities.
In your opinion, what is the most notable aspect of this planning adjustment, and has it addressed previous bottlenecks?
The notable point is that the adjustment of Hue City’s planning under Decision No. 756/QD-UBND, signed by Hue City People’s Committee on February 28, 2026, added several provisions reflecting the new role of a centrally governed municipality. The vision toward 2050 is defined as “a city of creation and innovation with distinctive cultural features, heritage, green spaces, Hue identity, smart city, seaside orientation, adaptability, and sustainability; a major urban center among the country’s highest economic development and quality-of-life groups; a Festival City, and a national and Asian center for culture and tourism, education, science and technology, and specialized healthcare; as well as a safe, friendly, and happy destination”.
This decision still needs to be supplemented by resolutions, adjustments to laws, and related legal documents aligned with new policy directions in order to resolve many remaining obstacles and bottlenecks.
Current realities show overlaps among different types of planning and the phenomenon of “suspended planning.” In your opinion, is this mainly a technical issue in implementation, or are there institutional aspects that still need improvement?
“Suspended planning” primarily reflects ineffective land management and land-use mechanisms. Strong enough tools are needed to handle delayed projects, revoke projects for reassignment to other investors, or adjust and exchange locations if those sites are important for urban development. The principle should be to prioritize investors with genuine capacity and readiness to implement projects.
However, achieving this is not merely a technical matter; it is directly related to institutions and legal frameworks. For example, project revocation must be based on clear legal grounds, mechanisms allowing transfer to other investors, and compensation methods that ensure fairness for all parties. Without a solid legal foundation, it is very difficult to completely resolve suspended projects.
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| Hue’s urban infrastructure is becoming increasingly modern and well-maintained. Photo: Ngoc Minh |
Therefore, institutions need to be upgraded in a more transparent and rigorous direction. Delayed projects must have clear revocation mechanisms, and the revocation process must be transparent while balancing the interests of the State, investors, and residents.
In addition, a very important requirement is to build planning in a multi-sectoral and multi-layered manner. An effective planning project cannot simply be sector-specific planning, but must integrate land use, transportation, economic development, investment attraction, resource allocation, and concrete implementation plans. This requires effective coordination mechanisms among departments, agencies, and sectors.
For a project to be implemented successfully, many conditions must be met, including connected infrastructure, population factors, the ability to attract strategic investors, and suitable financial mechanisms. It also involves investor capacity, public-private partnership models, and the management capacity of local authorities.
In reality, many of these factors remain limited, such as land data systems, current-status maps, and the ability to provide transparent information to investors. In particular, the legal system still contains overlaps among laws such as the Planning Law, Land Law, Construction Law, and Investment Law. These lead to contradictions in implementation. In addition, accountability among related parties remains unclear.
It can be seen that this issue is both one of implementation organization and institutional reform, with institutional factors playing the decisive role.
Thank you very much.