Planning for five satellite urban areas in Hanoi, which is expected to help reduce the overloading of the urban centre, lags behind schedule, the municipal Department of Planning and Architecture has said.

A view of the planning of Hoa Lạc satellite urban area.
(Photo: gamudacityland.vn)

Nguyen Truc Anh, director of the department, said the city’s general planning included five zoning plans for satellite urban areas with a total area of more than 20,300 hectares, namely Hoa Lac, Son Tay, Xuan Mai, Phu Xuyen and Soc Son by 2030.

The satellite urban areas were hoped to develop in a complete manner from technical infrastructure to social infrastructure and reduce crowding and pollution in the urban centre.

However, only the planning of Hoa Lac satellite urban area has been completed and approved by the Ministry of Construction. The planning will be submitted for the Government’s approval in the near future.

Son Tay and Soc Son satellite urban areas were currently assigned to consultant units. Once completed, the planning would be handed over to the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute.

In the first quarter of next year, the planning of Soc Son urban area is expected to be reported. Phu Xuyen and Xuan Mai urban areas with six sub-projects were under construction for approval, he said.

Nguyen Nguyen Quan of the city’s People’s Council said the city had aimed to complete the planning of the satellite urban areas in 2015, but the target had been missed.

He said it was necessary to assign responsibilities to those involved, especially the Department of Planning and Architecture which was the focal point for planning tasks and appraisal.

Due to the delay in satellite urban planning, the localities were currently facing difficulties in infrastructure construction as well as construction permits, he said.

In reply to Quan, Anh said the slow construction progress of satellite urban areas was due to the low capacity of the planning consultancy units, a shortage of input data for planning and the lengthened process of stakeholders' consultation.

For example, the planning of Son Tay satellite urban area consisting of six wards was assigned to T&T Group. However, due to the consulting unit's inability, the project has not been completed.

He suggested it was necessary to accelerate the process of digitising land data to serve planning work. In addition, local leaders needed to strictly follow the planning and supervision of individuals and organisations in the area.

According to the Government’s general planning in 2011, five satellite towns would be built in suburban areas of the city and could accommodate 1.4 million people, accounting for 15 percent of the city’s population by 2030.