The first phase (2020-2025) will focus on the town’s coastal areas and the two banks of the Huong (Perfume) River.

In this, parts of the Huong Thuy and Huong Tra townships and Phu Vang District will be annexed to Hue, expanding its area by 337 percent to 267 square kilometers in the next six years.

In the second phase (2025-2030), Hue will continue to grow and its area will expand to 348 square kilometres, taking over all of Huong Thuy and Huong Tra townships.

Alongside the territorial expansion, Hue will strive to leverage the development advantages it has in particular and the central region has in general, in harmony with its cultural and historical heritages to achieve the status of federal city by 2025. Vietnam currently has only five centrally-managed cities, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Phan Thien Dinh, Vice Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue People’s Committee, said this development plan has been discussed for a long time and has been finalized after careful consultation with experts and locals.

Hue, as the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), Vietnam’s last feudal rulers, is dense with many UNESCO-recognized heritages, including royal tombs, ancient palaces and pagodas that attract millions of visitors a year.

The town is divided by Huong River. On the northern bank, that’s roughly 10 square kilometres in area, are situated the ancient palace with its four inner wards and 10 outer wards. The southern bank is larger and boasts more advanced infrastructure and traffic routes.

However, overall, the infrastructural scale of this former imperial town is far smaller than Vietnam’s major cities.