At a session of the Hanoi People’s Council’s Standing Committee in mid-October 2022, Thanh promised that parks in the city will be revived and residents will enjoy fair and free access to local parks.

Thanh said that the city will apply new models for investments in parks, and no matter what the model is, people will benefit from the development. They won’t have to pay for admission tickets to enter the parks.

VND900 billion for 3 parks 

To revive the parks in the inner districts of the city, in October 2023, Hanoi People’s Council approved a project on upgrading some parks, including Thong Nhat, Thu Le and Bach Thao, with investment capital of VND886 billion. The project will be implemented in 2024-2026.

The municipal authorities have budgeted VND408 for upgrading Thong Nhat Park, VND330 billion for Thu Le and VND149 billion for Bach Thao.

Under the plan to upgrade Thong Nhat, the fence around the park will be removed to create an ‘open park’. After the fence is removed, park security and order will be implemented with a new security camera and lighting system.

Some items inside Thong Nhat Park will be built, including rest huts for people.

In December 2022, a part of the fence facing Tran Nhan Tong street in Hai Ba Trung district was removed, and a new walking street was opened.

As for Thu Le and Bach Thao Parks, the local authorities will initially focus on repairing and upgrading degraded items. These are two special parks, so the municipal authorities need to thoroughly consider plans to revive them. The ‘open park’ model may be applied to both ensure security in the area and harmonization with the surrounding landscape.

In 2023, Hanoi also discussed solutions to revive Tuoi Tre Thu Do Park. Thanh had many working sessions with departments and branches.

The Hai Ba Trung district People’s Committee persuaded the investor to remove items and works inside the park that are in violation of regulations.

VND300 billion for two new parks

After more than 10 months of execution, Hanoi in November 2023 inaugurated Long Bien Park, covering an area of 21 hectares built with investment capital of VND94 billion.

Long Bien Park is a clean, beautiful and modern space, a highlight of the landscape and architecture of the urban area in association with the administrative center of Long Bien district.

Walking spaces, an entertainment and sports center, culture and arts areas, and community activities for people in this district have been formed.

On October 10, 2023, when Hanoi celebrated the 69th anniversary of the capital city liberation, Long Bien district inaugurated Ngoc Thuy Park and Lake, covering an area of 14 hectares and built with investment capital of VND208 billion. 

The fate of parks left idle for 20 years

In 2023, Hanoi also gathered strength to solve problems arising during the implementation of Dong Da and Ha Dong Park projects. The projects have been left unimplemented, though the design was drawn up a long time ago.

At a meeting of the Hanoi People’s Council held in early December, participants requested the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, and Dong Da and Ha Dong districts’ people’s committee to report about the implemention of the two projects.

Nguyen Trong Ky Anh, director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, said that the Dong Da Park project has been going slowly, but that the execution depends on local authorities’ district development planning.

As for the 95-hectare Ha Dong Park, Can Thi Viet Ha, chair of Ha Dong district, said that local authorities are going to submit the project to the district people’s council.

Bui Thi An, a deputy of the 13th National Assembly, while praising the strong determination of the municipal authorities to implement the park revival plan, said that dozens of park projects in Hanoi remain half-finished or still on paper, such as Ha Dong, Dong Da and Chu Van An.

Bui Hoai Son, a member of the National Assembly’s Committee of Culture and Education, thinks the recovery of the parks in Hanoi needs to be speed up. He said if Hanoi can develop the parks effectively, they will become creative spaces that will attract tourists to the capital city.

Tran Thuong