Socio-economic Planning Systems at the National Level (Viet Nam Socio-economic Development Plan)

The two components of the centrally-planned Viet Nam Socio-economic Development Plan are the 10-year "Socio-economic Development Strategy" and the corresponding consecutive two "Five-year Socio-economic Development Plans". The stated objective of the current 10-year strategy is "to accelerate national industrialization and modernization along the socialist line and to build the foundation for the country to basically become an industrialized nation by 2020."

The 10-year strategy program was initiated after the 1986 Doi Moi platforms of reforms were introduced. The 2011-2020 10-year strategy in Viet Nam is the third of its kind. The five-year plans, on the other hand, well predate the Doi Moi reforms. The 2011-2015 five-year plan is Viet Nam’s ninth.

Both the 10-year strategies and five-year plans fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The MPI is the primary government organ delegated with the responsibility of coordinating with the relevant agencies involved in the drafting of the plans and with producing the final documents. The proposal developed by the MPI is finalized after official deliberations by the government and within the Communist Party.

Under the Viet Nam Socio-economic Development Plan scheme, a bottom-up mechanism is employed whereby local governments (communes, districts, and provinces) issue proposals to the higher levels of government, which are then ultimately and eventually send to the MPI, where they are incorporated into the country’s overall spatial/land development policies.

Spatial Planning System at the National and Regional Levels

The details of the spatial plans under the purview of the Ministry of Construction are conceived through four administrative mechanisms: the Master Plan Orientation for Viet Nam’s Urban System Development (national plan), the regional plans, (Ministry of Construction / provinces), the master plans (cities / provinces), and detailed plans (districts, wards, industry zones, or development projects). Generally speaking, the plans are prescriptive in character, laying out specific ways to use land in specific locations, unlike the rather regulative nature of Western land use plans.

In April 7, 2009 the Prime Minister approved the Adjustment Master Plan Orientation for Viet Nam’s Urban System Development to 2025 with a Vision to 2050, which was the Decision No.445/QÐ-TTg with the orientation of general development and figures as the following:

From now to 2015, the key economic regions and large urban areas are put high priority on and the comprehensive economic zones play the role as a dominant growth pole at national level; from 2015 to 2025, the development of basic urbanized area is put priority on to reduce the local and dispersed development; in the period from 2026 to 2050 the urban network will be generally implemented.

The urban population is forecasted about 35 million nationwide in 2015; in 2020, about 44 million people; in 2025, about 52 million people, accounting for 50% of total population nationwide as of 2025.

In 2015, total number of urban areas nationwide reaches over 870 municipalities and 1,000 in 2025.

In 2015, the demand for urban construction land is of about 335,000 ha, accounting for 1.06% of nationwide natural land, average rate 95m²/head; in 2025, they are 450,000ha, 1.4% and 85 m²/head respectively.

Chapter 2 of the Construction Law, which was legislated in 2003, lays out regulations for "construction plans" (corresponding to master plans). In effect, it is a set of regulations for urban, regional and/or spatial plans. According to those regulations, "regional construction plans" fall under the category of regional plans. As such, it is possible to formulate broad-reaching plans that encompass provinces and centrally-controlled cities ("inter-provincial plans" and "metropolitan area plans"), both of which form the largest regional administrative units. Based on this Construction Law, in recent years Viet Nam has undertaken the creation of regional construction plans that divide the country into 6 socio-economic regions (inter-provincial areas). In June 17, 2009 this Chapter had been separated from the Construction Law to create a new law named the Law on Urban Planning with No 30/2009QH12. This law was enacted in January 1, 2010 and is applied on planning and urban development in urban areas. Regional planning and rural planning still comply with Construction Law.

Metropolitan Planning System

Figure:Plan for the Ha Noi Metropolitan Area

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Source: "Report on the 2006 National Spatial Policy Seminar" (2007)
National and Regional Planning Bureau, MLIT, Japan

The Ministry of Construction is responsible for drawing up regional construction plans for the capital and other metropolitan areas. Plans that involve multiple provinces (in this case Ha Noi and other centrally-controlled cities) are proposed by the Ministry of Construction. The Ministry then seeks the opinions of related agencies and their branches, other relevant ministries, and the centrally-controlled cities’ people’s committees, after which the plans are submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

There are 3 metropolitan areas in Viet Nam which come along with 3 key economic regions, North, Central and South. They are Ha Noi’s region, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh.

The plan of Ha Noi’s region had been approved in 2008 to identify main objectives of the Capital Region in 2004-2020 such as opportunities, resources, population, labor, urbanization, urban development framework, economic zones, regional infrastructure system, regional management mechanism and priority projects.

Regional Cooperation with Neighboring Countries for the Development of Border Areas

In order to promote trade across national borders, Viet Nam cooperates with neighboring countries for the development of border areas. The country has set up free trade zones in towns that serve as gateways for crossing national borders. Viet Nam shares with the partner country the cost of building roads that link the inland area (inside the partner country) with harbors (inside Viet Nam). It is also proceeding with bilateral talks related to power and other elements of infrastructure, human resource development, etc. As of January 2008, Viet Nam had 23 Border Gate Economic Zones, the borders of which it shares with China, Laos, and Cambodia.