Nguyen Van Tung, chairman Haiphong People’s Committee

Haiphong’s Party Committee and People’s Committee are highly focused, devoting attention to the coordination with relevant departments, ministries, and sectors to carry out the five-year review of implementing Resolution No.45 of the Politburo on building and developing Haiphong city to 2030, with a vision to 2045. This is along with the three-year review on the pilot of specific policies. This year is also crucial for the preparation and organisation of the Party Congress at all levels in the city.

The city continues to expand foreign relations and best avail of investment promotion opportunities, especially strengthening investment promotion in high-tech fields, and fields of top investment priority at present such as health and education.

The city urgently directs the construction and concretisation of mechanisms to support domestic businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, aiming to build up businesses capable of working with foreign investment units in processing and manufacturing. This includes in high and green technology such as electronics, semiconductors, and logistics industries. It will create conditions for local businesses to develop, striving to balance revenue streams between domestic and foreign businesses to complement internal strengths for the city.

Haiphong will accelerate the implementation of urgent and key tasks until the end of the 2020-2025 tenure, especially the missions as establishing a coastal economic zone south of the city, setting up a free trade zone, and studying and preparing documents for an airport in Tien Lang district, among others.

Bui Nhu Lai, vice rector, Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema

As a person attached to Haiphong’s literature and arts, especially theatre, as well as observing the city’s development in recent years, I see that Haiphong has experienced very positive changes. The city leaders as well as leaders of the Department of Culture and Sports have been very active, motivating artists to do many things. This brings many benefits to Haiphong’s artists.

More importantly, Haiphong’s audiences have access to many great works with different staging and performance styles. It can be stated that this is an important premise and a solid foundation to shape the future cultural and artistic development of the city.

Haiphong has boldly invested in literature, art, and culture, both in direction and funding. This is valuable support for the development of culture and art, in parallel with the city’s economic development. I think Haiphong deserves to be the leader in the field of arts compared to other localities in the country today.

Haiphong urban area and its cultural institutions are increasingly modern. The transport infrastructure linking with other localities has been complete, making it very convenient for residents and tourists. Moving forward, Haiphong is not only about literature and arts, cuisine is also an attraction for visitors.

Tran Thi Hoang Mai, director, Haiphong Department of Culture and Sports

Haiphong has become an important port city and is also one of two development hubs of the northern key economic region.

Following plans to build and develop advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with distinct national identities, Haiphong has paid due heed to ensuring cultural development in a comprehensive way, constantly improving the material and spiritual life of local people.

The city has enacted a master planning on the development of Haiphong’s culture, sports, and tourism to 2025, with a vision to 2030. To implement the project, the city’s Department of Culture and Information proposed continued implementation of innovative programmes such as Lighting up the City Theatre, creating videos to promote the city’s historical relics.

This helps build a healthy, civilised, and modern cultural environment, while preserving and promoting the cultural identity of Haiphong people, striving to reach the goal of building and developing Haiphong into a major cultural centre with a distinct identity.

Tran Thi Quynh Trang, secretary, An Duong District Party Committee

An Duong is the western gateway of Haiphong, encompassing many important traffic routes and a complex system of industrial, agricultural, and service zones. The district’s economic structure is diverse, and the local infrastructure system was built on a large scale and synchronously, creating a modern urban space.

With all public schools meeting national standards and two large hospitals, the project to turn An Duong into an urban district administrative unit is an inevitable trend, meeting the objective requirements of economic, population, and labour restructuring amid the modernisation process of the city.

Pursuant to the 2023 approval of Haiphong’s revised general planning to 2040, with a vision to 2050, as an urban district, An Duong would become one of the six important development areas of Haiphong in the future, expanding the urban area to the west of the city.

An Duong is home to large-scale industrial zones and clusters, such as Trang Due and An Duong , which are deemed important premises for the development of major logistics and industrial centres of the city. The strong operation and development of such zones and clusters has created a stable source of employment and enticed labour from neighbouring areas, as well as foreign experts, to live and work in the district.

Bruno Jaspaert, CEO, DEEP C Industrial Zones

Haiphong has a strategic geographical location at the end of the supply chain, so all goods circulating to and from northern Vietnam have to go through Haiphong.

The port city plays a role model for sustainable development. If Haiphong can demonstrate the efficiency of sustainability and the city can grow sustainably, then it would be able to perform much more effectively than other localities.

That means it needs to set new standards, and I’m happy that the new economic zone that Haiphong is aiming for in Do Son is an example of new idea application to create the difference.

We pursue sustainable development as we believe it is the right direction, and we believe foreign investors will only come to Vietnam to invest in the future if they can prove to shareholders that this is a sustainable investment destination.

In recent years, DEEP C has become clear evidence that transitioning towards a sustainable investment location is a meaningful strategic direction. I believe this direction can be applied to the whole of Vietnam.

Five years ago, DEEP C had to prove that Vietnam was an investment destination. To date, we don’t need to prove it any more. We keep alluring more and more investors because our decisions are sustainable.

Trinh Ba Dung, chairman Cat Ba Fine Arts

As a professional tour operator and an investor, I realise that Haiphong has many valuable tourism resources. If Haiphong performs smartly in tourism planning, the city would increasingly develop. I grew up in Ho Chi Minh City and have led diverse successful ventures in scenic locations in Vietnam such as Dalat and Nha Trang. Currently, I have a venture on Cat Ba archipelago. During my research on Haiphong tourism, I have conceived a model called the diamond triangle.

The first triangle vertex is Thuy Nguyen. The district should be invested into becoming a historical, cultural, religious, and spiritual centre. Spiritual, historical, and cultural tourism plays a crucial role in sustainability and connection.

The second vertex of the triangle is the Do Son tourism area. Here, we should strive for a night economy. Halong and even Hanoi are not that far away, and Do Son is already considered a brand.

And the last triangle vertex is Cat Ba island, which should be a high-class community eco resort model. Here we can do everything selectively and make it premium. If we can create this diamond triangle, no other city can be our opponent. It’s time for Vietnamese people to step out of their safety zone and show the world that travelling to Vietnam is a worthy experience.