A view of the proposed innovative hub tentatively called Thu Duc City (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) -Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has told Ho Chi Minh City’sauthorities to consult foreign experts on its plan to build an innovative‘city within a city’ in the eastern part of the sprawling metropolis.
The government has approved aHCM City proposal to merge the eastern districts of 2, 9, and Thu Duc intoone administrative unit, tentatively called ‘Thu Duc City’.
To build the new city, Binhsaid HCM City authorities must seek advice from foreign experts andinvestors, including technology, finance and real estate companies.
Such consultationswill allow the city to better understand investment needs andinfrastructure requirements for Thu Duc City. “The consultationscan be done online,” he said.
To attract investment, HCMCity must make clear how the new area would be distinguished from other urbanareas in the country and other financial and technological centres inAsia, he added.
The plan should also be inaccordance with the general planning for HCM City andthe southeastern region to avoid overlaps that could lead to unnecessarycompetition within HCM City and the region, according to Binh.
To seek ideas for the new hub,the city last year launched a contest on planning concepts. Thewinner, the US architecture and design solution firm Sasaki Associates Inc,proposed different zones, facilities and development plans, with allthe elements needed for a smart city and innovation, as well as otherfeatures to support the growth of technologies and key industries.
Dr Tran Du Lich, member of theGovernment’s Economic Advisory Group, said the new city should be considered asan economic driver for the city and region, connecting research,entrepreneurship, academia, and industry to create an innovationeco-system.
Dr Huynh The Du, lecturer atFulbright University Vietnam, said Thu Duc City should study the experiences ofmajor cities in other countries, including the Pudong areain Shanghai and Gangnam in Seoul, and propose policies for a creativeecosystem and improved competitiveness.
According to the Ministry ofConstruction, the plan to build a new “city within a city” is“unprecedented” in the country and will require extensive study.
The ministry said theestablishment of the new city directly under HCM City management would alsorequire amendments in urban planning and construction laws.
Pham Thai Son of the Vietnam-GermanyUniversity pointed out that the city’s current resources were stillinsufficient to build the innovation district in the city’s eastern part.
Dr Nguyen Cao Tri of Van LangUniversity also noted that it would be difficult to change managementmethods immediately, so the city must devise “creativemethods based on current policies”.
Pham Chanh Truc, former deputysecretary of the municipal Party Committee, said: “A smaller area should bedesignated first as the innovation district and then expanded becausethe project will involve huge expenditures.”
To make the plan feasible, thecity has to start with the basics such as traffic infrastructure, headded.
The city’s administration hasestablished a steering committee, led by Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman ofthe municipal People’s Committee, which will develop a master plan for thedevelopment of the new city.
The master plan includesstrategies for a knowledge-based economy that promotes investment in urbandevelopment and a highly skilled workforce.
The committee plansto develop a centralised urban database with data about land use,transportation, canals and other works in the three districts.
In addition, the committee willconsult both the public and agencies, and promote international cooperationin investment.
Experts recommend that ThuDuc City should be designed to “attract more investment and newopportunities while promoting globalisation and maintaining localculture, appealing to a talented workforce from around the world,and adapting to climate change”.
Thu Duc City would bespread over 211 square kilometres and house more than a million people.
Currently,the 48sq.km Thu Duc District has a high concentration of educationalinstitutions and research centres and four large universities with more than10,000 lecturers and professors and 100,000 students.
The 50sq.km District2, which includes the Thu Thiem new urban area, will provide internationalexhibition and financial centres for the new urban area and the city as a whole.
The 114sq.km District9, which includes the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, would be a hub for research andan incubator for innovative technologies.
The new city isexpected to contribute 30 percent of the city’s economic growth,and 4-5 percent of the country’s.
HCM City contributes 23 percentof national GDP, 30 percent of Government revenues, 16 percent of industrialoutput, and 15 percent of exports./.
VNA
