Open space for development

Cua Luc Bay has an area of ^​​18km2 , the deepest point is 17m, is a basin flowing into Dien Vong River and Troi River; has national and international shipping routes; has Hon Gac as a spatial highlight, natural conditions can form a commercial, urban, and sea tourism center. This is also the convergence of 6 river mouths from the upper reaches of Thien Son Mountain (old Hoanh Bo district). Previously, the administrative boundary on the mainland of the city was divided into two parts (Bai Chay and Hon Gai) by Cua Luc Bay. In order to create a strong development momentum for the province and bring Ha Long City closer to the goal of becoming an international-class economic and tourism center, as well as erase the distance between the two sides of Cua Luc Strait, Bai Chay Bridge was completed and put into use at the end of 2006. Having a bridge connecting the two banks of Cua Luc further enhances the inherent beauty of the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay, demonstrating the strategic vision and innovation in the province's transport infrastructure.

With a favorable geographical location and attractive ecological resources, the development of Ha Long in the past years still faced many major challenges, such as: The land condition is a narrow strip of land along Highway 18. If you want to have land for development, you need to level large hills, fill up part of the Bay area, affecting the natural landscape. The construction space stretches along the route, making the connection between areas very disadvantageous, depending mainly on Highway 18. Coal mining activities also have a great impact on the air and water environment, especially with the risk of negatively affecting the ecosystem of Ha Long Bay.

It is noteworthy that the development process has not yet effectively exploited marine economic activities, such as sea transport, tourism services, aquaculture, etc. On the other hand, the load on Ha Long Bay space is quite large but there is still a lack of complementary products for the tourist seasons of the year; there are no solutions for green development, heritage economy, night economy, cultural industry, etc. associated with promoting the heritage values ​​of Ha Long Bay, Cua Luc Bay and the existing resources and values ​​of the area to continue the breakthrough and sustainable development of Ha Long City.

In order for Ha Long to develop to its full potential, on December 17, 2019, the National Assembly Standing Committee issued Resolution No. 837/NQ-UBTVQH on the arrangement of district and commune-level units in Quang Ninh province, thereby officially merging Hoanh Bo district into Ha Long city. Up to now, after more than 5 years, Ha Long city has opened up new development spaces, built national and international projects, created a corridor to protect the heritage and environment of Ha Long Bay, marking a historic turning point, affecting the development of localities in the province.

In the Master Plan of Ha Long City to 2040, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister (Decision No. 72/QD-TTg dated February 10, 2023), it is determined to develop Ha Long urban area into a civilized, friendly service and tourism urban area, a national service - tourism center of international stature with a modern socio-economic infrastructure system, linking conservation and sustainable development of the World Heritage, Natural Wonder of Ha Long Bay and Dong Son - Ky Thuong Nature Reserve.

The implementation of the Plan is carried out from the viewpoint and goal of taking Cua Luc Bay as the center of connection, developing the new Ha Long urban area according to a multipolar model. In which the development structure includes 5 regions (Ha Long Bay region; Eastern region; Western region; Cua Luc Bay region and the area north of Cua Luc Bay; Northern mountainous region) and 1 corridor along Ha Long Bay, taking Cua Luc Bay as the center of connection, in a multipolar direction, in harmony with the World Natural Heritage and the mountainous regions north of the city...

Comrade Nguyen Tien Dung, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the City People's Committee, shared: Implementing the Planning not only helps the city solve the problem of space allocation for development goals, but also removes the basic bottlenecks of land space, technical infrastructure overload and lack of synchronization of transport infrastructure, which were bottlenecks of the two localities of Ha Long - Hoanh Bo before the merger. The merger has expanded Ha Long's development space many times over. The absolute sea - island strength of Ha Long Bay is now directly combined with the strength of the mainland - mountain space, multiplying the "integration" and "competitiveness" of this unusual land. These two unique characteristics create a very favorable foundation for Ha Long City to have new development thinking with more reasonable calculations to promote its existing strengths, develop a green and sustainable economy.

The center of the capital city

Compared to other localities in the country, Ha Long is a unique urban area when developing on the foundation of a World Natural Heritage. Accordingly, in the general planning, the city identifies the protection and development of Ha Long Bay as a typical image of Ha Long urban area and always ensures that all activities will not have a negative impact on the Heritage and the Heritage's zones.

With the determination to take breakthrough actions of provincial authorities at all levels, along with the participation of many domestic and international consultants, scientists, and strategic investors, Quang Ninh province and Ha Long city have accompanied Quang Ninh province and Ha Long city in researching creative solutions to promote potential strengths and overcome existing shortcomings. Accordingly, the province has a policy to invest in a number of projects (road tunnels through Cua Luc Bay, Cua Luc bridges 1, 2, 3...). Currently, Love Bridge (Cua Luc 1) and Binh Minh Bridge (Cua Luc Bridge 3) have been completed and put into operation, becoming unique tourism products located on Cua Luc Bay, creating a synchronous traffic connection between the North and South of Ha Long city, contributing to promoting and attracting resources and investors to Ha Long city in particular and Quang Ninh province in general.

According to Dr. Architect Pham Thi Thanh Nham, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Urban and Rural Planning (Ministry of Construction): To expand the space, the city will develop around the Cua Luc Bay area to become a spatial center, a center for connecting the expanded urban area. In developing this new urban space, the city needs to closely follow the factors of creating and developing the urban economy to plan a long-term strategy with a sustainable development philosophy based on three pillars: nature, people, and culture to build and form a sustainable urban development. Up to now, the space and structural model have developed in a multi-polar direction with the role of a connecting center of Cua Luc Bay, which has been clearly seen with the priority and attention of the province when the Love and Binh Minh bridges are key connecting points, closing the space of Cua Luc Bay. The routes surrounding the Bay are being gradually synchronized and invested in with the goal of creating a new development space. The area around the Bay is being urbanized, implementing many new investment projects to effectively exploit land funds in a direction suitable to green growth requirements and climate change adaptation.

In addition to investing in projects from the state budget, the province is assigning departments and branches to inspect, review and evaluate the current status of land and water use of non-budget projects located in Cua Luc Bay. In particular, it will strictly control urban development investment projects from the work of establishing, appraising and approving planning, controlling population, architectural space, landscape, urban infrastructure and environment. In particular, closely following the General Planning of Ha Long City to 2040 and consulting with leading experts, the city determined that it is necessary to quickly relocate polluting facilities and facilities at risk of causing pollution from the area around Cua Luc Bay, including Ha Long and Thang Long Cement Factories. Because Ha Long is merged, the location of these factories is in the middle of the expanded city center, right at Cua Luc Bay, an area planned as a new multi-polar connection center, in harmony with Ha Long Bay Heritage and the mountainous areas north of Ha Long City, along with green and clean development plans around Cua Luc Bay.

Realizing the Master Plan of Ha Long City to 2040, with a vision to 2050, is a symbol of Quang Ninh's "Discipline and Unity" action mindset, creating a breakthrough for Ha Long City with new values, ensuring long-term development. The roadmap for implementing the Plan will be associated with the following stages: Stage 2024-2025: Completing the system of urban architectural planning management tools; Completing the urban framework infrastructure system; Implementing green urban development associated with the smart urban model. Stage 2025-2030: Developing and improving the quality of coastal space; Completing coastal roads, public spaces and coastal public services; Expanding the urban area to the East (Ha Phong ward), the West (Dai Yen ward) and expanding connections to the North of Cua Luc Bay. Phase 2031-2040: Expand connections to neighboring areas such as Uong Bi, Quang Yen, Cam Pha to create harmonious development space; exploit converted areas to create urban service works, urban parks and supplement development space for Ha Long City; attract the development of architectural works to create urban highlights.

The master plan of Ha Long City is gradually being realized, affirming the commitment and practical actions to preserve and promote the values ​​of Ha Long Bay and Cua Luc Bay as well as demonstrating the dynamism and determination of the authorities at all levels of Quang Ninh province and the people of Ha Long City to build a beautiful, livable urban area, attracting domestic and international tourists.

And the epic victory of the first battle on August 5 in Cua Luc Bay is not only a proud memory of the people of the Mining Region, but in the future this area will develop eco-tourism, cultural, entertainment, high-tech industry services..., turning Cua Luc Bay into a new urban area, a "Sydney Bay on the shore of Ha Long Bay".

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/cua-luc-tu-chien-thang-tran-dau-den-quy-hoach-khong-gian-trung-tam-cua-tp-ha-long-3349830.html