Dong Nai River axis serves to connect the development triangle

Among the key development axes proposed by the consulting unit in the Adjusted Dong Nai Provincial Planning for the 2021 – 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, the Dong Nai River axis plays a role in connecting the development triangle of Bien Hoa – Long Thanh – Nhon Trach.

An urban development area along the Dong Nai River in Nhon Trach new urban area, Dong Nai Province. Photo: Pham Tung

The growth-driving area

The Dong Nai River flows through Dong Nai Province for about 200km, playing a key role in supplying water for agriculture, industry and domestic use. It also supports hydropower development, inland waterway transport, eco-tourism and urban landscape formation. With these advantages, together with Long Thanh International Airport, the Dong Nai River has been identified by the province as an important potential, advantage, and driving force to promote double-digit economic growth in the coming period.

Ho Van Ha, Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, noted that for Dong Nai Province, the Dong Nai River holds a very important position in socio-economic development. The riverbank area, in particular, remains a space with significant untapped potential and, if developed in the right direction, could make a substantial contribution to the province’s growth.

According to the proposal from the consulting unit for the Adjusted Dong Nai Provincial Planning for 2021 – 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, in addition to the Dong Nai River axis, the remaining five main economic growth axes of the province include the central North – South axis; the North Dong Nai – Ho Chi Minh City axis; the East-West axis in the northern part; the East-West axis in the southern part; and the Ho Chi Minh City – Bien Hoa – Vung Tau axis.

According to Doctor of Science and architect Ngo Viet Nam Son, Chairman of NgoViet Architects & Planners (Ho Chi Minh City), Dong Nai Province has substantial potential along the Dong Nai River to develop a chain of riverfront urban areas. This urban chain could be integrated with plans to expand another urban chain along Tri An Lake. Given the substantial potential of the Dong Nai riverside region, the locality has favourable conditions and opportunities to promote riverside economic development.

In the province’s development orientation, the corridor along the Dong Nai River is identified as a national maritime transport axis, an inland waterway transport axis, an urban-rural waterway transport route, and a tourism waterway route, connecting from Tri An Lake to the confluence of the Soai Rap – Long Tau rivers. At the same time, it is also an axis for urban-rural development and high-quality functional zones, a landscape axis defining the province's image, an axis for supplying water resource, biodiversity, and climate regulation for provinces within the Dong Nai River basin.

In the process of realising the potential, advantages and growth drivers of the Dong Nai River, Dong Nai Province has in recent years called for investment in projects aimed at unlocking the potential for river-based economic development. These include a riverfront urban-service-tourism chain (Hiep Hoa Urban Area Project); a riverfront urban-service-tourism chain in the former Long Thanh District area (Long Thanh Industrial Urban Service Complex Project); and a riverfront urban-service-tourism chain (Knowledge and Eco-Urban Area, sub-zones 6.1 and 6.2 in Nhon Trach new urban area).

One of six key development axes

In the Provincial Planning for 2021 – 2030 period, with a vision to 2050 of the former Dong Nai province, the Dong Nai River corridor was regarded as one of the most critical development corridors in the province. This is because the Dong Nai River lies within an international maritime axis (Group 5) and converges many inland waterways and channels deep into the mainland. It also serves as an urban, rural, and natural landscape axis, a main feature of the province’s spatial structure, and a growth-driving axis of the dynamic urban route in the Southeast region. In addition, the Dong Nai River also serves as a vital natural axis for water supply, climate regulation, energy development, and climate change adaptation. It is also an axis of spiritual culture and historical significance closely associated with the formation and development of the province.

For these reasons, the Dong Nai River corridor has been planned and divided into segments to ensure appropriate and effective development and utilisation.

In the new context, following the merger of Dong Nai Province with Binh Phuoc Province to form the new Dong Nai Province, the province is now preparing the Adjusted Dong Nai Provincial Planning for 2021 – 2030 period, with a vision to 2050. Under this planning framework, the Dong Nai River axis continues to be proposed as one of the six key axes driving the province’s economic growth.

Under the consulting unit's proposal, the Dong Nai River axis is shaped to begin from the Bien Hoa urban area, pass through the Long Thanh urban area, and connect at its endpoint in the Nhon Trach urban area. As such, the Dong Nai River axis will serve to connect the province's development triangle area of Bien Hoa – Long Thanh – Nhon Trach. In terms of development orientation, the Dong Nai River axis will become an urban development corridor along the Dong Nai River, closely associated with high-end services.

To unlock the development potential of the Dong Nai River axis, the consulting unit has also proposed, under the key connectivity infrastructure planning, investment in the construction of a riverside boulevard connecting Bien Hoa to Nhon Trach along the Dong Nai River. This boulevard is expected to serve as a primary axis for the development of riverside urban areas and services.

By Pham Tung – Translated by My Le, Thu Ha