Tran Hoa Tram, head of office at Thua Thien Hue People's Committee, announced the status update on Saturday as per a new resolution released by the Party Politburo on December 10.

In envisioning Hue, now capital of Thua Thien Hue Province, as a federal city, the resolution stresses the essential of preserving Hue’s ancient heritages and cultural identity and promoting tourism as a spearhead sector.

"IT and communications will see breakthroughs, while industry and agricultures are foundations," it reads.

The resolution on developing Thua Thien Hue by 2030, with a vision to 2045, notes that the province has been able to achieve an average annual economic growth of 7.2 percent over the past 10 years, higher than the national average, with tourism becoming a spearhead sector, and fishery and aquaculture being a driving force for economic growth.

It emphasizes the need for Thua Thien Hue to leverage the development advantages of the province and the central region in harmony with its cultural and historical heritages.

By 2030 Hue should become one of Southeast Asia's distinctive, big centers in terms of culture, tourism and healthcare, and one of Vietnam's big centers in terms of science and technology, education and training, national defence and security, the resolution says.

Thua Thien Hue has planned to expand the acreage of Hue by five times to over 300 square kilometers. But the timeline is unknown.

Hue, the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty - Vietnam's last royal family (1802-1945), possesses many UNESCO-recognized heritages. It is home to royal tombs, ancient palaces and pagodas that attract millions of foreign visitors every year.

Thua Thien Hue received more than 4.3 million visitors last year, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent, 2.2 million of them foreigners.