Adjusting Hoi An urban planning in the new context

A corner of Hoi An Ancient Town seen from above. Photo: QUOC TUAN

Marking a new development milestone

After a long period of completion, the Project to adjust the general planning of Hoi An City for the period up to 2035, with a vision to 2050, was just approved by the Provincial People's Committee in early March 2025. As a district-level planning project, due to the special nature of the ancient town of Hoi An, the project had the advice of an international unit and was carefully assessed by 6 ministries before being approved by the province.

The representative of the planning consultancy consortium, the National Institute of Architecture (Ministry of Construction) and AREP Villa Company (France), said that the planning has been calculated to develop Hoi An into a sustainable urban area, adapting to climate change.

The planning in the project helps Hoi An to be resilient and adaptable to climate change; exploit and promote the city's potential and advantages to meet investment, conservation and development requirements to promote historical and cultural values, promote the integration process, link regional and area development, and create a premise for green growth.

The project identifies three core strategies for Hoi An urban development: “Ecology - Culture - Tourism”. The ecosystem development strategy will preserve Hoi An’s unique, diverse and dynamic water surface space.

The cultural development strategy aims to promote Hoi An as a city of living heritage. The tourism development strategy will improve the overcrowding situation and develop more sustainably.

One of the focuses of this planning is the direction of urban development to the West, focusing on Thanh Ha ward and Cam Ha commune; at the same time, synchronously connecting with the smart urban areas of the province and the whole country.

Hoi An will also prioritize the development of green tourism, smart tourism, and improve service quality to meet the increasing needs of domestic and foreign tourists.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Son - Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee, this adjustment of the city's master plan not only helps orient the development of the city but is also an opportunity to awaken and unleash the potential of Hoi An, attract maximum investment resources, and ensure synchronous and sustainable development.

Many concerns...

The approval of the project to adjust the city's master plan is considered a breakthrough to resolve long-standing problems affecting the overall development process of the city as well as the people and businesses in Hoi An City.

However, according to the view of Hoi An City leaders, the policy of rearranging administrative units, specifically abolishing district-level government in the short term, will affect some contents of the project.

Mr. Nguyen Van Son said: "Although it has just been approved, some contents of the project may not be implemented. For example, the goal of building Hoi An into a type II urban area according to specific criteria by 2030, if the district level is removed (ie Hoi An City is removed), how can that goal be realized?"

In addition, the project to divide Hoi An into 7 sub-zones is also losing its relevance and is unlikely to be implemented in the near future when Hoi An is rearranging its administrative units at the grassroots level. According to the leader of Hoi An City, the city will report to the province to study and temporarily suspend the sub-zone planning, except for focusing on completing the sub-zone of Tan Hiep island commune.

“In the upcoming practical situation, the concretization of the project to adjust the general planning of Hoi An city will face many difficulties. However, based on the significance of the project and the great value of the ancient town of Hoi An, the authorities will focus on effectively applying it in the new context to well implement the project, removing difficulties for people and businesses,” Mr. Son affirmed.

Speaking at the ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Hoi An city, Alternate member of the Party Central Committee - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Luong Nguyen Minh Triet affirmed that even if the administrative boundaries have to be changed, Hoi An is still a world cultural heritage, a strong brand, an asset, and an extremely valuable resource for development.

“Any arrangement or adjustment is aimed at making Hoi An more developed, people’s lives increasingly improved, not to make arrangements to go backwards. Hoi An needs to proactively implement the recently approved Hoi An urban planning adjustment project, at the same time continue to be creative, exploit potential advantages, mobilize all resources to develop Hoi An into a prosperous, attractive and livable city” - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Luong Nguyen Minh Triet emphasized.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/dieu-chinh-quy-hoach-do-thi-hoi-an-truoc-boi-canh-moi-3151842.html