A long-term vision for Hai Phong’s development space
Hai Phong’s master plan needs a long-term vision and a comprehensive assessment of its development potential, laying the groundwork for the city to fully capitalize on its strengths and seize emerging opportunities.
Planning decisions made today will shape Hai Phong’s urban landscape and development space for decades to come. Infrastructure, transport and energy targets must therefore be calculated with a long-term perspective, not only to meet current needs but also to provide room for greater growth in the future.
At a recent meeting to review the draft Master Plan for Hai Phong through 2050, with a vision to 2075, Chairman of the Hai Phong People’s Committee Do Thanh Trung called for infrastructure, energy and transport targets to be set at the highest possible levels for submission to the central government for consideration, warning against unnecessarily limiting the city’s scale or lowering its development targets. His direction goes beyond setting figures in a planning document, raising broader questions about the city’s development mindset and long-term vision.
Following the merger, Hai Phong has gained a much larger development space, bringing together significant advantages in seaports, industry, logistics, the marine economy and regional connectivity. This is more than an expansion of administrative boundaries. It also creates opportunities to reorganize the economic space, tap the potential of individual areas, establish new growth poles and develop new economic corridors. The master plan must therefore make full use of existing advantages while anticipating future growth drivers.
Hai Phong is envisioned as a national multi-sector marine economic hub, linking international seaports with logistics, industry, energy, urban development, services and marine tourism. Achieving this goal requires integrated infrastructure capable of supporting a much larger scale of development. Demand for energy, transport, water supply and drainage, as well as industrial and service space, must be projected under long-term development scenarios rather than based solely on current conditions
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Under the proposed master plan, Hai Phong will follow a multi-center urban development model, comprising two centers in the areas of the former Hai Phong City and Hai Duong City, three development corridors running east-west, north-south and along the coast, and four economic zones. The city’s territory is proposed to be organized into 13 development sub-regions, with a network of 22 urban areas. The scale and scope of this spatial arrangement require coordinated planning from the outset, particularly in terms of transport connectivity, technical infrastructure and the allocation of functional areas.
Alongside the expansion of economic space, the master plan must ensure a balance between development and environmental protection. Road, rail, inland waterway and air transport networks must be seamlessly connected with seaports and logistics hubs. Ecological areas, waterways and green spaces must also be planned in proportion to the city’s development needs to safeguard quality of life and urban sustainability.
By 2045–2050, Hai Phong aims to become a modern industrial and service-oriented port city of Asian stature, as well as the country’s hub for the marine economy, logistics, clean energy, and marine science and technology. By 2075, the city aspires to become a globally competitive coastal megacity and a regional center for trade, logistics and the marine economy in East Asia.
These ambitions call for a sufficiently broad planning vision that addresses not only immediate needs but also lays a solid foundation for long-term growth. Hai Phong is proactively shaping its development space and preparing the infrastructure and resources needed to seize future opportunities, turning its potential and advantages into tangible drivers of growth.
Hai Phong News