The 1,137-page plan was released on March 12 for the public to provide feedback over the next month.
It outlines a sweeping vision for the city around the tagline “Cultured, Civilized, Modern,” encompassing everything from heritage preservation in the Old Quarter to new landmark construction at the city’s northern gateways.
Long Bien Bridge, a steel truss structure built by the French colonialists over the Red River in 1902, has a single rail line and a motorbike lane.
Under the plan, the bridge will be repurposed as a pedestrian promenade hosting performances and cultural exhibitions and linking the Old Quarter with the open riverfront.
The proposal reflects a broader strategy to turn the Red River corridor into a signature public space, with major cultural and entertainment facilities also planned along both banks.
In the historic inner city, the plan calls for continued landscape renovation around architectural landmarks including the Turtle Tower on Hoan Kiem Lake, the Hanoi Opera House, the Hanoi Flag Tower, O Quan Chuong gate, the National Convention Center, and the Keangnam tower (Landmark 72).
The Ba Dinh Political Center, home to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the National Assembly Building, the Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda, will be carefully preserved with new construction barred from blocking sight lines to these national symbols.
The Old Quarter’s 36-street trading district will retain its traditional tube-house commercial structure, and the nearby French Quarter will preserve its colonial-era architecture and heritage sites including Long Bien Bridge, the Opera House and Hang Co (Hanoi) Station.
High-rise development will be tightly controlled in the inner city, though select landmark buildings may be approved where they complement the urban design without disrupting heritage landscapes.
Buildings along the West Lake-Ba Vi axis are required to feature modern architecture that reflects national identity and holds national or international stature, with priority given to environmentally friendly materials and green design.
Among the most prominent new projects are the Thang Long Theater, planned for the Tay Ho Tay new urban area, and the Pearl Opera House in the Quang An area of Tay Ho district.
The Pearl Opera House, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and funded by Sun Group, broke ground in October 2025 and will cost over VND12.7 trillion (US$485 million).
Its dome is inspired by a pearl floating on the surface of West Lake.
The plan also proposes new public squares with monumental artworks like Hoa Binh (Peace) Square with an Independence monument cluster north of the Red River, and Anh Sang (Light) Square featuring a large-scale Doi Moi (Renewal) mural at Hoa Lac.
At the city’s northern gateways, the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai and Bac Thang Long-Noi Bai corridors are designated as backbone development axes and symbols of the capital’s international integration.
Proposed landmark structures include a National Exhibition and Convention Center, the North Hanoi Smart City and a financial tower.
Transport interchanges at gateways like the Noi Bai-Ha Long expressway junction, the Co Linh interchange, Nhat Tan Bridge, and Red River waterway terminals will feature distinctive architectural designs and symbolic installations such as a “City for Peace” emblem and lotus-themed public art.
Additional focal points are proposed for the Dong Anh gateway and hilly landscape zones at Ba Vi and Soc Son.
The plan is the latest step in a process that accelerated in January, when the city legislature, the People’s Council, passed a landmark resolution endorsing the master plan’s core contents.
It described the plan as a historic policy framework aimed at transforming Hanoi into a multi-polar, multi-center metropolis capable of sustaining double-digit economic growth as Vietnam pursues high-income status.
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