The latest checking of the HCMC National Assembly delegation on urban planning implementation in the city has revealed many issues that need handling: land clearance compensation; integration between urban planning, construction planning, rural planning, and land use planning. The delegation was also concerned about suspended projects such as Binh Quoi – Thanh Da or Safari in Cu Chi District.
Delegate Truong Trong Nghia suggested that HCMC should make good use of its available resources like biosphere and green areas, marine resources, real estate of businesses under the management of Central agencies, and underground space.
Deputy Director of the HCMC Planning and Architecture Department Truong Trung Kien informed that his organization has already collected ideas from experts in the field, related state agencies, and the localities for better urban planning.
Regarding resources management, especially Can Gio mangrove forest, the planning is going to maintain the biosphere forest boundaries and meet all necessary criteria of urban residential areas.
As to underground space exploitation, boundaries have been updated to serve public facilities such as metro stations. Constructed buildings have close connections to the traffic system. The city is now designing the underground space between the downtown and Thu Thiem new urban area.
In the city planning, certain land lots are allocated for mixed or functional purposes to grow more trees, construct more public service facilities, community facilities. Therefore, with respect to the verification of whether a house or land belongs to any green space planning or mixed planning of the city, the HCMC Planning and Architecture Department is working with the localities to adjust their own mixed planning and provide a more detailed version for the public. Any inadequacies will be address simultaneously to avoid negative impacts on citizens’ right.
Standing Vice Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee Le Hoa Binh stated that after receiving opinions and proposals from the intellectual, experts in the field, and related state agencies, the city is now finishing its planning for the period from 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050 to submit for approval this quarter.
He also announced the greenlight of the Government for the city’s planning until 2040 with the vision to 2060. This means the city can now enter the next phase of creating detailed projects to submit to the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the municipal authorities ask that the HCMC Planning and Architecture Department collaborate with districts and Thu Duc City to evaluate the feasibility of any projects suspended for over 5 years to make suitable adjustment.
At the same time, functional agencies are requested to prepare common management regulations for the city’s architecture to replace Decision 29/2014, which will be expired soon, and those for Thu Thiem new urban area. Adjustments for the zone planning of Binh Quoi – Thanh Da urban area, the coastal tourism urban area in Can Gio District are also on the way.
Urban designing for the neighborhoods of stations along metro lines 1 and 2 are also prepared to attract investment and provide corresponding urban embellishment. A contest is organized to select the best design for underground space use of the current 930-hectare downtown and Thu Thiem new urban area (657ha).
As to the tasks of planning making-adjusting, regulation establishing, urban designing, the Vice Chairman said that the city has agreed with the idea of comprehensive adjustment for 41 already approved zoning projects and put a greenlight to local changes of zone planning and detailed planning for 194 areas and streets.
Other key parts of HCMC like the Northwest urban area, Hiep Phuoc urban area have also had their planning created or adjusted to suit the real demands.
In 2012, the urban planning for the scale of 1/2000 – 1/5000 for the whole city was completed, with 600 projects on the surface area of over 88,000ha to satisfy the demand on urban development and investment attraction.
However, during the time carrying out these tasks, the city has realized certain limits and inadequacies in legal documents on urban planning, construction planning, making it unable to keep up with the swift development of the city; in unsynchronized infrastructure for the socio-economic growth of HCMC; and in the inability of planning projects to follow the assigned route.
Therefore, the city hopes that the Government and related ministries and agencies check and deliver suitable changes in those legal documents or introduce a special mechanism for HCMC to fulfill its planning tasks.
