Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Hanoi's administration is considering the creation of fourcities in Dong Anh, Me Linh, Soc Son and Hoa Lac by 2050.

Theaim of the proposal is the development of the northern and the western part ofthe capital, to create growth and a new look for urban development in thecapital.

Themove came about after the Party Civil Affairs Committee of the municipal People'sCommittee submitted a report evaluating the Hanoi Capital Region Master Plan,which was issued and implemented in 2011. The report proposed some newadjustments to the plan, with the goal of putting local people at the centre.

Underthe new orientations, the Hong (Red) River will be an axis of the city, and theareas on both sides of the river will be developed synchronously. The northernarea of the river will be developed into a modern urban area.

Thecapital has also considered developing urban areas on both sides of Ring RoadNo 4 to effectively exploit land, helping surrounding areas to develop.

TheRing Road 4 project will have a length of 112.8km, starting at the Noi Bai - LaoCai Expressway in Thanh Xuan commune, Soc Son district, and ending at the Noi Bai- Ha Long Expressway in Que Vo district, Bac Ninh province. 

Thecapital is also considering the establishment of another airport in thesouthern area of the capital.

TheHanoi Capital Area, consisting of Hanoi, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, BacNinh, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Bac Giang and Thai Nguyen, covers 24,314.7sq.km with a population of about 20 million people.

Thearea is larger than both the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, which has an area ofabout 14,000 sq.km and a population of about 38 million and Bangkok CapitalArea, which has an area of about 7,762sq.km and a population of 16 millionpeople.

However,the capital currently only has Noi Bai International Airport, which has acapacity of about 25 million passengers per year. This is much lower than othercapitals around the world. 

Arepresentative of the Hanoi’s Planning and Architecture Department told Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaperthat the proposals are under consideration. 

Inaddition to urban planning, the mechanisms of the new cities near the capitalare expected to promote and create momentum for development, he said.

“Theyare just initial ideas,” he added.

Thecity will consider the ideas based on the specific analysis and assessment ofthe socio-economic impact and the contribution of the new model to thecapital’s development, he said.

Themodel of setting up a “city within a city” has been successfully applied in HCMCity, he said./.