Hanoi is seeking to enlarge the green space of the capital region with 70percent of its area designated as green corridors and the remaining 30 percentto be turned into central and satellite urban areas.

According to theHanoi Construction Masterplan through 2030 with a Vision towards 2050, the greencorridors will be developed in the area lying between the Day and the TichRivers, encompassing central and southern Hanoi.

The plan was jointlydeveloped by PPJ - a group of three international consultants including USarchitectural firm Perkins Eastman and the Republic of Korea’s Posco E&Cand JINA (PPJ).

The plan has been submitted three times to thegovernment for consideration since late last year following the government’sdecision to expand Hanoi to cover more than 3,300 sq.km in August 2008.

In the plan, the PPJ proposed development of Hanoi’s expanded centralurban area to include two regions surrounding the old capital city, divided bythe Red River and expanding towards beltway No. 4.

Beltway No. 4 isdesigned to facilitate transport within the Hanoi capital region or metropolitanarea, which includes the old Hanoi capital city and the six surroundingprovinces of Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc. Itwill be built this year and is expected to be completed before 2020.

ThePPJ also suggested development of five satellite urban areas and ecologicalvillages and towns in the surrounding provinces along the greencorridor.

The PPJ’s design is based on the basic principle of creating apublic green space near the city, protecting high-yield farming and flood proneareas and creating a stronger links among urban, suburban and rural areas. It isexpected to help preserve the region’s natural and cultural heritage and allowthe stable development of craft villages as well as facilitate ecologicaltourism./.