“Hue’s business community needs to change its mindset, strengthen its ambition to advance, and deepen cooperation to achieve the stature expected of a centrally-governed municipality,” emphasized Mr. Le Tri Thanh, Deputy Secretary of Hue City Party Committee and Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee, at a gathering held to celebrate Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Day on October 13th. The event was organized by Hue City Business Association on the afternoon of October 13th.

On 18 September 2026, the Standing Committee of the Hue Municipal Party Committee issued Plan No. 101-KH/TU to implement Resolution No.19-NQ/TW of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Political Bureau’s Action Program No. 33-CTr/TW on renewing Vietnam’s development model. Plan 101 does more than put an important Central resolution into concrete terms. It raises a long-term approach for Hue: what development model should this centrally-governed municipality choose so that it can achieve new growth, while also preserving and promoting the values that make up its unique identity?

Changes in planning, infrastructure, and development space as Hue became a centrally governed municipality are opening up more room for the real estate market. However, experts said that this potential can translate into real value only when projects link to infrastructure, user demand, and the characteristics of a heritage city.

Hue has been a centrally governed municipality for more than a year, making planning adjustments subject to many new requirements. Regarding this issue, Dr. Ngo Viet Nam Son, Architect, shared his perspectives with Hue Today Weekly on development thinking, regional connectivity, and long-term growth drivers for Hue heritage city.

The 2021-2025 period can be regarded as one of the most extraordinary stages in the development history of Hue City. This was not merely a term of socio-economic development following a conventional trajectory, but rather a period of “running while lining up”: simultaneously coping with unprecedented shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and global instability, while concentrating resources to realize the strategic goal of becoming a centrally governed municipality.

The review and adjustment of Hue’s urban master plan to 2045, with a vision toward 2065, marks a pivotal moment for the city’s future development. As Hue has recently become a centrally-run governed municipality, the planning process goes beyond merely updating technical indicators or redefining urban boundaries; it opens an opportunity to redefine a long-term development vision for one of Vietnam’s most distinctive heritage cities.

Hue’s elevation to a centrally-governed municipality from early 2025 has taken place in a special context: the country is undergoing a major administrative restructuring, reducing the number of provinces and cities from 63 to 34. While 52 other localities are expanding through mergers, Hue has chosen a different path - no consolidation, no expansion by aggregation, but an upgrade built on its existing identity and structural foundation.

Just one year after becoming the country’s sixth centrally governed municipality, Hue City has begun a new and more dynamic development journey. A series of key transport infrastructure projects have been invested in and completed, contributing to a transformation of the urban landscape and opening up numerous opportunities for local socio-economic development.

In the early days of the re-establishment of the province, Hue faced countless difficulties. Over 35 years, Hue City has made remarkable and proud progress.

The Cultural Heritage Law No. 45/2025/QH15, passed by the 15th National Assembly on November 23, 2024, at its 8th session, will officially take effect on July 1, 2025. For Hue, a centrally-governed municipality and Vietnam's first heritage and cultural city, the (amended) Cultural Heritage Law plays a crucial role in improving the effectiveness of managing, protecting, and promoting cultural heritage.