Speed up the implementation of planning(*)

le-quy-tiep(1).jpg — Comrade Le Quy Tiep, Member of the City Party Committee, Director of the Department of Construction, gave a speech at the 1st City Party Congress, term 2025-2030.

Following the Party and State's policy on administrative unit arrangement, Hai Phong city after merging and expanding its boundaries has become a large-scale urban area, with an area of 3,194.72 km² and a population of about 4.66 million people. This is a development of historical significance, marking a new stage in the process of urban construction and development, opening up many great opportunities for future economic and social construction and development.

Before the merger, Hai Phong city and Hai Duong province had built their own planning systems, suitable to the development characteristics of each locality. These achievements have become an important foundation for the new Hai Phong city to inherit, promote and create breakthroughs in the current period.

In that context, the requirement is that the city must quickly implement the Master Plan, and at the same time organize the synchronous establishment of lower-level plans, associated with the drastic implementation of key projects. This is both a strategic task and an urgent solution to ensure the motto of "planning is one step ahead", creating a driving force for synchronous and sustainable development.

However, along with those opportunities and potentials, the process of implementing post-merger planning also poses many difficulties and major challenges.

Firstly, in terms of scale and scope: After the merger, the development space and population-economic scale of the city have been significantly expanded. This entails a huge amount of work, from surveying the current status, assessing natural-social conditions, to allocating resources and organizing implementation. The new planning must cover a larger area, more complex in terms of terrain, population, production and infrastructure. This is a big challenge in terms of time, effort and quality requirements.

Second, on data and synchronization: The amount of data that needs to be collected and integrated from the two old localities is huge. If not processed scientifically , unified and connected, the data can easily overlap and be inconsistent, affecting the quality of planning. The urgent requirement is to form a centralized, modern planning data system that can be connected between levels and sectors so that all decisions are based on science and practice.

Third, on resources and progress: The demand for finance, human resources, especially experts and scientists with experience and high qualifications in planning work is very large. Meanwhile, the progress of making and approving projects needs to be quick so as not to interrupt the city's development momentum. This is a great pressure that requires a flexible mechanism in allocating resources and organizing implementation.

To promote planning work in the city and at the same time solve the challenges posed after the merger, there needs to be strong direction, synchronous and timely implementation of many key solutions. This is not only a technical requirement in planning work, but also an urgent task to create a solid foundation for economic development, investment attraction and urban construction in the coming period.

Some key solution groups are as follows:

Firstly, combining new planning with maximum efficiency of approved plans. This is a strategic solution, ensuring new development, inheriting previous achievements and shortening research time. While implementing new planning projects in accordance with the socio-economic model of the merged city, plans approved before July 1, 2025 will continue to be implemented, ensuring that construction investment projects are not interrupted. This solution helps maintain a continuous development pace, without letting legal or administrative gaps affect the implementation of key projects.

Second , synchronizing planning and data through digital transformation. It is necessary to build a centralized, modern planning data system, digitizing all maps, land information, population, and infrastructure from both old localities to form a shared database. At the same time, promoting the application of GIS technology, 3D models, and artificial intelligence in planning, appraisal, and approval. This not only shortens the planning time by 3-7 months, but also improves the accuracy, transparency, and science in management and operation.

Third, strengthen coordination, decentralization and resource mobilization. There needs to be strong direction from the City Party Committee and People's Committee and synchronous coordination between departments, branches and localities. It is possible to establish a special working group on planning and construction with full authority to resolve inter-sectoral issues, ensuring that all problems are handled promptly and responsibilities are not passed on. Decentralization and delegation of authority need to be fully utilized by localities, exploited more effectively in accordance with current legal regulations, implementing two-level local government in organizing the establishment, appraisal, approval and announcement of planning in accordance with legal regulations to ensure progress and quality, as well as shortening the time for processing procedures and enhancing initiative.

In particular, the city needs to promptly select capable, reputable, experienced consulting units that can cooperate with foreign consultants to improve the quality of planning projects, ensuring access to international standards. In terms of resources, in addition to the state budget, it is necessary to mobilize the participation of enterprises, international organizations, experts and especially the contribution of ideas from the people so that the planning is both quality, feasible and highly consensus.

Fourth, combine planning with project implementation in parallel. The motto "planning goes first, projects follow" needs to be flexibly applied. The establishment of general planning must be linked to the implementation of key infrastructure projects such as belt roads, main traffic axes, wharves, economic zones, free trade zones, new industrial zones, etc. to create spillover from the beginning. This approach helps planning not to lag behind development practice, while creating early socio-economic effects, attracting investment and creating jobs for people.

Fifth, organize the simultaneous establishment of the general planning and lower-level planning. Immediately after the new Hai Phong City General Planning task is approved, it is necessary to simultaneously implement the establishment of zoning plans, commune general planning, and detailed planning in new communes and wards. Parallel implementation will shorten the time, ensure consistency between planning levels, avoid the situation where lower-level planning waits for the higher level, and help projects to be quickly implemented.

Sixth, improve the capacity and effectiveness of planning management. Planning can only truly come to life when it is closely managed and monitored. The city needs to continue training and fostering staff working in planning and construction, especially in new localities. At the same time, strengthen land management, resources, environmental protection, and strictly control pollution sources. Management must be transparent, public, associated with digital transformation and administrative reform, creating a safe and favorable investment environment.

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(*) Title by Hai Phong electronic newspaper.

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/day-nhanh-tien-do-trien-khai-cac-quy-hoach-521965.html