On November 25, at a session to explain land and construction management at the alluvial ground in the Red River, the leaders of Hoan Kiem district said all four districts of Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Tay Ho and Long Bien agreed to ask for the city’s People’s Committee’s permission to design a project on developing the middle alluvium ground into a multi-functional cultural park. 

The budgets for the development would be from the districts. 

This is not the first time the idea has been raised. Prior to that, in March, Hoan Kiem district designed a plan on turning the alluvium ground into a cultural and tourism park, and later with Long Bien district developed a plan to use 1 hectare in Long Bien district.

However, professional agencies of the city said that the park development in the middle alluvium ground of the Red River must be in accordance with the urban Red River subdivision, while the middle alluvium ground and the two sides of the river must be implemented in all districts where the Red River traverses. 

Hoan Kiem district has had a meeting with districts Ba Dinh, Tay Ho and Long BIen and all have proposed a design for a project on park development.

Architect Pham Thanh Tung, Chief Secretariat of the Vietnam Association of Architects, said this was a good idea because in the near future the middle alluvium ground would become a green space and may be an open park.

However, there are many issues that need to be considered thoroughly before making decisions.

“Currently, the zoning subdivision plan has been approved but it will still require a lot of work to get the 1/500 zoning and many questions will need answers. What will a multi-functional cultural park need and what will be the connections between the park and the existing residential quarter?” he said, adding that implementation must be related to detailed plans, the connections of transport infrastructure and general landscapes, and must not be implemented separately.

When some people suggested developing a park in the middle alluvium ground of the Red River, some analysts said they were concerned that the project may cause waste because many parks in the inner city have not been used to full capacity.

In Hanoi, many parks are still on paper while many others have kicked off but not finished.

The Kim Quy Culture, Tourism and Entertainment Park (100 hectares) in Dong Anh, for example, kicked off in 2016. To date, 99 hectares of land have been cleared. In Chu Van An memorial park in Thanh Tri district (50.9 hectares), after many years of implementation, only several routes to the park have been completed, while wild grass still grows in most other areas.

As for Dong Da Park (7.09 hectares), the projects have been planned for 20 years, but site clearance has not been completed. 

The CV1 Reservoir Park in Cau Giay and Nam Tu Liem districts (27.7 hectares) started in 2016, but has not been 

Citing the unsuccessful development of the park, Tung said it is necessary to design the new parks thoroughly. “We want to do everything, but we don’t do it to the very end,” he said.

Hanoi authorities have promised to revive the parks by 2023 so that local residents can freely access public space.

“I think that what Hanoi needs to do now is focus on the upgrading and building of new parks as planned, with nine new parks and three old parks in the inner city, such as Kim Quy, Chu Van An, Thien Van Hoc, Thong Nhat, and Bach Thao. After completing these projects, Hanoi will think of developing the other parks," Tung said.

Regarding the proposal on development of a park on the middle alluvium ground of the Red River, he said the wishes need to be consistent with the reality and comprehensive development of the area. When the plan on Red River urban subdivision is implemented, it will become an attraction, creating an attractive driving force for the eastern part to develop, become a livable space.

Thu Hang