The Green Light for Bac Giang’s Urban Planning Schemes: Envisioning a Sprawling 26,000-Hectare Metropolis

The People’s Committee of Bac Giang province has approved the detailed planning scheme for Sub-Area 6 of Bac Giang city, Bac Giang province, at a scale of 1/2000.

The planning area belongs to the administrative boundaries of Tan An town and the communes of Lao Ho, Xuan Phu, and a part of Huong Gian. The boundaries are limited to the north by Thai Dao commune, Lang Giang district; to the south by the Thuong river; to the east by Quynh Son and Lang Son communes and Luc Nam district; and to the west by Huong Gian commune and the Thuong river.

The study area covers approximately 2,048 hectares, with an expected population of 60,000 people by 2045. In terms of character, it is a subsidiary urban area associated with the agricultural gateway, the Man stream flowing into the Luc Nam river, the low hills of the Lao Ho and Quynh Son areas, and the Tay Yen Tu tourist area. It serves as a complex service center supporting the surrounding industrial parks.

The functional urban planning of Sub-Area 6, Bac Giang city, Bac Giang province, is divided into four planning areas, depending on the natural terrain and the potential and intrinsic development of each area, to propose separate functions for each development area while ensuring standards for the formation of residential units and prescribed indicators.

Area A: Eastern Gateway Area. Located in the eastern part of the planning area, it is bordered to the southwest by the Capital Region’s Ring Road 5; it is a recreational park combining intangible cultural forms and a large water body – the Man stream, symbolizing Bac Giang city at the eastern gateway. The total area of Area A is approximately 186.43 hectares, with a population of about 400 people.

Area B: Lao Ho Commune Area. Bordered to the east by Ring Road 5 of the Capital Region, to the west by Ring Road 2, to the south by Quynh Son commune, and to the north by Thai Dao commune of Lang Giang district; it is an eco-urban area combining the preservation of the existing village space structure and the development of eco-tourism services, the agricultural landscape, and the low hills of Lao Ho commune associated with the Man stream recreational park to the east. The total area of Area B is approximately 333.61 hectares, with a population of about 9,500 people.

Area C: Tan An Town Center. Bordered to the east by Ring Road 2, to the west by Huong Gian commune, to the south by a planned road with a 50m cross-section, and to the north by Thai Dao commune of Lang Giang district; it is a subsidiary urban area providing efficient services to the surrounding areas, developing on the basis of the existing Tan An town center, supplementing social and technical infrastructure, and forming a new administrative center at the ward level, in line with the criteria that by 2030, the arrangement of administrative units at the commune level in Bac Giang city will be basically completed. The total area of Area C is approximately 678.92 hectares, with a population of about 34,000 people.

Area D: Xuan Phu Commune Area. Bordered to the east by Quynh Son commune, to the west and south by the Thuong river, and to the north by Huong Gian commune, it functions as an urban, service, mixed-use, and subsidiary area for the Regional General Hospital, forming a healthcare complex. Open spaces connecting the Thuong river area are designed as ecological agricultural buffer zones, creating green landscape spaces and improving the living environment of the area. The total area of Area D is approximately 738.51 hectares, with a population of about 16,100 people.

The People’s Committee of Bac Giang province has also approved the adjusted planning scheme for Sub-Area 2 and Sub-Area 8 of Bac Giang city, Bac Giang province, at a scale of 1/2000.

Sub-Area 2 belongs to the administrative boundaries of Le Loi, Dinh Ke, Tan Tien, and Dinh Tri wards of Bac Giang city and Huong Gian, Xuan Phu, and Tan An communes of Yen Dung district. The boundaries are limited to the northeast by Thai Dao commune of Lang Giang district; to the south and southwest by the dike of the Thuong river; to the east by the planned Tan An road (belonging to Tan An town, Yen Dung district); and to the northwest by the Hanoi-Lang Son expressway.

The planning area covers approximately 2,247 hectares, with a total population of about 66,000 people by 2030 and about 105,000 people by 2045.

Sub-Area 2 of Bac Giang city has the character of a complex urban area, a new multi-functional center of Bac Giang city, with an eco-urban space associated with green landscapes, water bodies, and public service works at the city level.

Meanwhile, Sub-Area 8 of Bac Giang city has administrative boundaries belonging to Nham Bien town and Yen Lu, Canh Thuy, and Tien Dung communes. The boundaries are limited to the north by the foot of Nham Bien mountain and the Thuong river; to the southwest by the Cau river and Que Vo town of Bac Ninh province; and to the east by Duc Giang and Tu Mai communes. According to the plan, Sub-Area 8 covers an area of approximately 4,378 hectares, with a population of 90,000 people by 2045.

Sub-Area 8 of Bac Giang city has the character of a southern gateway urban area, an important transport hub connecting Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, and Quang Ninh provinces. It is an innovative and productive urban area, a new economic development pole of Bac Giang city, with an attractive and modern eco-urban space.