The ancient capital of Hue is undergoing redevelopment, aiming to become a Heritage City.

Despite its early formation and development, Hue is currently one of the smallest cities in Vietnam. According to regulations issued by the National Assembly, a city within a province must have a minimum population of 150,000 people and a natural area of ​​at least 150 square kilometers.²or higher. Hue is currently a first-class city within the province, with a population of over 350,000 people but an area of ​​only over 70 square kilometers.².

After liberation, Hue repeatedly attempted to expand; however, the lack of a unified overall plan led to situations where some localities in Huong Thuy, Huong Tra, and Phu Vang districts, having just been upgraded to city status, had to revert to their district status.

The project "Construction and Development of Hue City until 2030 and Partial Adjustment of the General Planning of Hue City until 2030, with a Vision to 2050" has been completed and is currently undergoing a consultation process for finalization. The expanded area of ​​Hue city includes the existing Hue City (70.67 km²) and parts of Huong Thuy and Huong Tra towns, and Phu Vang district, covering an area of ​​approximately 348.54 km², five times larger than the current size.

Heritage and ecological city

At the recent seminar "Building and Developing Thua Thien Hue Province to 2030, with a Vision to 2045," organized by the Central Economic Committee in coordination with the Provincial Party Committee, Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, Member of the Politburo and Head of the Central Economic Committee, emphasized that transforming the entire Thua Thien Hue province into a centrally-administered city would be highly impractical, a goal that has yet to be achieved after 10 years. Building Hue into a centrally-administered heritage city would be more appropriate and feasible. Therefore, Thua Thien Hue has decided to develop Hue City into a heritage city – a centrally-administered city – following the direction of "Heritage, culture, ecology, landscape, and environmental friendliness."

The city of Hue will expand in east-west and north-south directions, with the Perfume River as the main landscape axis. According to many experts, the expansion of Hue City as planned will complete the Perfume River spatial axis connecting the mountains to the sea. Along the Perfume River axis, smaller urban areas on both banks will be developed, reducing pressure on the heritage urban area. A cluster of urban areas will be formed with Hue City as the center and four supporting urban areas: Huong Thuy, Tu Ha, Thuan An, and Binh Dien. This development direction will bring Thuan An beach and Phu Bai airport closer together through a ring road system.

Expanding into two directions: East-West and North-South.

Initially, Hue prioritizes expansion along the east-west axis to complete the urban landscape of Hue's heritage site, creating a picture stretching from mountains to the sea along the Perfume River. This expansion will avoid disruption and imbalance between urban development land and agricultural land. Cities within the cluster will be connected by a ring road system, with green belts strategically placed between them to limit urban sprawl and prevent flooding; thus establishing an environmentally friendly heritage, cultural, and landscape urban cluster. The ancient city with the World Heritage site – the Hue Imperial Citadel – on the north bank of the Perfume River, and the old city on the south bank will be preserved; meanwhile, the urbanized areas surrounding Hue will be officially transformed into urban areas.

According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hue City, Hoang Hai Minh, the city's immediate goal is to maintain stable economic development and continue to create breakthroughs in tourism, services, and trade. The city aims to accelerate the construction of a synchronous socio-economic infrastructure system with several modern, environmentally friendly projects, meeting the criteria for a Type I city under the provincial administration. The project "Construction and Development of Hue City until 2030 and partial adjustment of the general planning of Hue City until 2030, with a vision to 2050" is divided into two phases, addressing both immediate needs (expanding Hue City) and long-term needs (making the entire Thua Thien Hue province a city under the central government).

My Tong