Hanoi enlists Japanese help for $4 billion smart city development

On June 5, the Hanoi People’s Committee, BRG Group, and Sumitomo Group signed the $4-billion agreement to develop a smart city at the north of Hanoi, along the two sides of Nhat Tan-Noi Bai Highway.

The agreement was signed at the Vietnamese investment promotion conference in Tokyo under the witness of Prime Ministers Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Shinzo Abe within the framework of PM Phuc’s official visit to Japan. The aim is to develop Nhat Tan-Noi Bai area in the north of Hanoi into one of the most modern smart cities in Southeast Asia.

BRG was assigned to create the 1/500 detailed master plan for the 2080-hectare project in 2011. BRG used its own funds and together with the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute and the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association created a selection committee. They picked global design firm P&T Group to create the plan.

The urban area will be an architectural highlight of the city and create a momentum for socioeconomic development in the area north of the Red River.

“BRG knows that this is an important project not only to Hanoi but also to Vietnam. The area is the world’s gateway to Hanoi. The building of a smart urban area with such significance shows our strategic vision for the city,” BRG Group chairman Nguyen Thi Nga said.

BRG and Sumitomo Corporation officially entered into a strategic partnership in multiple fields in December 2016 and signed the agreement to develop the smart city in April 2017.

Sumitomo has the capacity and experience in master planning infrastructure and the construction of real estate projects, as well as considerable prestige with the government of Japan and Japanese companies. The cooperation between BRG Group and Sumitomo, with the support of the Hanoi People’s Committee, is going to ensure an efficient project that would create a highlight for the city.

The signing of the agreement also realises the Vietnamese government’s hopes to improve urban development and strengthens the ties between the two countries.

Source: VIR