The industrial park, however, has long shown many limitations, with residential areas interspersed among the factories within the industrial park. Therefore, the relocation and conversion of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park according to the new plan recently approved by the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee in February 2024 will promote green development in the locality.
The location of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park lies along the Dong Nai River, adjacent to National Highway 1 and the Vung Tau crossroads commercial center – a key location connecting the functional areas of Bien Hoa city in the future. Photo: Hong Dat/VNA
Necessary relocation
According to Acting Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee Vo Tan Duc, Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park is located along the Dong Nai River with Hiep Hoa Islet on the other side and along National Highway 1 near the Vung Tau crossroads commercial center. This is an area with a key location connecting the functional areas of Bien Hoa city in the future. At the same time, it is the eastern gateway connecting the center of Ho Chi Minh City via Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1 (from Suoi Tien). At the same time, it is a highly strategic location for Dong Nai province in general and Bien Hoa city in particular in terms of socio-economic development.
According to the overall socio-economic development plan until 2020, with a vision to 2025 approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 734/QD-TTg dated May 27, 2015 and the draft Dong Nai Province Planning for the period 2021 – 2030, with a vision to 2050, it was determined that: Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park will be converted into an urban – commercial – service area in order to combine urban planning, environmental protection and increased land use efficiency.
Vo Tan Duc, Acting Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, emphasized that in order to develop Bien Hoa City in accordance with the plan, the conversion of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park into an urban – commercial – service area is essential and objectively inevitable.
In addition, Bien Hoa City was built and renovated on the basis of a pre-existing city that developed before 1945. Over time, the landscape architecture of the inner-city streets has developed spontaneously, and as a result, Bien Hoa City currently has a heterogeneous infrastructural appearance that needs to be renovated.
In order to develop Bien Hoa City in a modern direction, along with the development of a new central area in Thong Nhat and Hiep Hoa wards, the city’s plan has organized a main traffic axis connecting the central areas with the city’s gateways. On either side of the main road are high-rise buildings, green spaces and services to create a modern urban landscape with a complete and organized layout.
According to the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, if the current location of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park is maintained, the aforementioned planning will not be feasible for the traffic axis in the eastern gateway area of Bien Hoa City. The reason is that the factories in Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park are currently located along Road No. 11 – the main traffic axis connecting the Vung Tau crossroads with Hiep Hoa Islet.
Thus, only the option of changing the land use purpose of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park can implement the aforementioned planning orientation. In addition, along Road No. 11 of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park – the main traffic axis leading into the city center – high-rise buildings, green spaces, and services can be arranged to replace the current factories.
Creating a green urban space
According to Vo Tan Duc, Acting Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, in line with its development orientation, Dong Nai Province is gradually implementing the Millennium Development Goals on sustainable development, while also making more vigorous efforts to promote green development in the province. In particular, it is ensuring the harmony of economic, social and environmental interests; protecting the environment, balancing the ecosystem, and not trading off the environment for economic benefits in the development process.
According to the “Project to Convert Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park into an Urban – Commercial – Service Area and Improve the Environment”, the relocation of enterprises will be completed by December 2025. Accordingly, the relocation of enterprises here will be divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 will be completed by December 2024 and will include: Enterprises located in the area of Section 1 (over 75 ha), in the south of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park, adjacent to An Hao Bridge, Tran Quoc Toan Street, Le Van Duyet Street, Hanoi Highway and the provincial Administrative – Political Center; Phase 2 will include enterprises located in the remaining area and will be completed before December 2025.
The project has two sub-projects, including: The provincial political – administrative center area project, with an area of approximately 44 ha, and the Bien Hoa 1 urban service area project with an area of over 286 ha. For the Bien Hoa 1 Urban Service Area project, two existing structures have been proposed for preservation: the Sonadezi Building (1.2 ha) and the Quality Measurement and Standards Technical Center 3 (2.2 ha).
The new political – administrative center, on the other hand, has a convenient technical infrastructure system, such as the An Hao Bridge connecting to the province’s existing administrative center, making it easier for administrative agencies and the public to commute and work. At the same time, it will create a new, modern, centralized, and professional administrative – political center with a synchronous technical infrastructure system that meets the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital transformation, etc.
The new political – administrative center will also address the current fragmented, inefficient, and haphazard construction, renovation, and repair of public offices; reduce the pressure on land for administrative agency construction in the old urban area; and effectively exploit urban land, creating momentum for the socio-economic development of Dong Nai Province and Bien Hoa City.
Vo Tan Duc, Acting Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, said that after the completion of the project, the current Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park will become a modern, civilized new urban – commercial – service area stretching along the Dong Nai River. This will help to harmoniously connect with the overall architecture of Bien Hoa city center and Hiep Hoa Islet, meeting the need for harmony between architectural works and the natural landscape to create a modern, green urban space.
In particular, the relocation of Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park will also help minimize water pollution, protect the water source of the Dong Nai River, and contribute to improving the water supply for about 20 million people living in the Dong Nai River basin in general and nearly 10 million people in Ho Chi Minh City in particular.
Final Article: Harmonizing Conversion Goals
