The Latest: On May 11, the Hà Nội People’s Council exercised its “special and breakthrough” powers to approve or revise investment policies for six major infrastructure projects. These projects hold a combined investment value exceeding 930 trillion đồng (more than $35 billion USD).
During the same historic session, the council also approved the recovery of 24,824 hectares of land to support 3,133 socio-economic development projects for the 2026–2030 period.
The Details: The six approved infrastructure projects include the following:
- The Red River Scenic Boulevard Project: Spanning 16 communes and wards, this project requires a land use area of approximately 11,418 hectares and a preliminary investment estimate of around 736.963 trillion đồng ($28 billion USD). Compared to the previous proposal, the revised plan removed three wards—Vĩnh Tuy, Hoàng Mai, and Vĩnh Hưng—and reduced the total investment by roughly 118 trillion đồng ($4.49 billion USD).
- National Highway 1A Expansion: Stretching from Ring Road 1 to the Pháp Vân–Cầu Giẽ interchange, this project requires a total investment of 161.994 trillion đồng ($6.16 billion USD).
- Ring Road 3.5 Project: Connecting Phúc La–Văn Phú to the Pháp Vân–Cầu Giẽ Expressway, this project requires a total investment of 13.017 trillion đồng ($495 million USD), which is an increase of more than 4.46 trillion đồng from the previous proposal.
- Ring Road 3 Project: Passing through Đông Anh District, this project possesses a total investment of 11.731 trillion đồng ($446 million USD).
- Environmental and Healthcare Projects: The council approved a wastewater collection and treatment project with a total investment exceeding 4.037 trillion đồng ($153.5 million USD), and the second campus of the Hà Nội Oncology Hospital, with a total investment of more than 4.767 trillion đồng ($181.3 million USD).
Furthermore, authorities have not yet disclosed specific resettlement and compensation plans for the residents who will be affected by these massive land recovery efforts.
The Background: Previously, the Hà Nội People’s Committee had proposed recovering more than 50,000 hectares of land for 5,822 projects, which the council has now significantly scaled down.
To contextualize the scale of these newly approved budgets, the Hồng River Scenic Boulevard Project alone carries a budget far exceeding major national infrastructure developments such as the Long Thành International Airport (336.63 trillion đồng) or the eastern North–South Expressway project (146.99 trillion đồng).
Why It Matters: Under Article 30 of the current Investment Law, many of these investment policies would normally fall under the approval authority of the National Assembly. For example, the Hồng River Scenic Boulevard Project alone is expected to affect around 200,000 residents.
However, since Dec. 12, 2025—when Resolution 258 on special mechanisms and policies for Hà Nội’s major development projects took effect—Hà Nội authorities have gained broader powers to proactively and flexibly approve investment policies in place of the National Assembly.
Beginning July 1, Hà Nội will also receive an additional 199 “special and breakthrough” powers under the revised Capital Law. This includes the authority to issue legal normative documents that differ from laws passed by the National Assembly.
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 12, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
