Deo Ca Group withdraws from Hanoi’s gigantic project Red River Scenic Boulevard, cites focus on core expertise

Deo Ca Group, a major Vietnamese infrastructure developer, said it has decided to withdraw from participation in Hanoi’s Red River Scenic Boulevard project, despite being among the first companies to help bring the long-delayed scheme off the drawing board.

The giant project, with a preliminary investment of about VND855 trillion ($32.49 billion) in Phu Thuong ward, broke ground last Friday.

Ho Minh Hoang, chairman of Deo Ca Group, said the project is vast in scale and involves multiple components, ranging from urban planning and land use to resettlement, redevelopment, and landscape construction - areas that fall outside the group’s core strengths.

“Our core competencies lie in transport infrastructure, underground works, construction management and technology,” Hoang told local media. “We have consistently chosen to go all the way in the fields we do best, and to proactively step back at the right time from areas that are not our expertise, so that Hanoi can select the most suitable model and partners.”

Hoang described the Red River Scenic Boulevard as a “once-in-a-millennium” project, adding that Deo Ca laid the initial “foundation stones” that enabled the project to be officially launched last Friday, after many years of remaining on paper.

From the outset, Deo Ca had mapped out strategies and solutions aimed at enabling construction to begin as early as 2025, including proposals involving advanced water management and flood control technologies, Hoang said. As part of that effort, the group organized multiple overseas study trips to gather expertise and experience, which it reported to relevant authorities.

However, Hoang noted that the project’s subsequent development had deviated from the original design focus and from Deo Ca’s proposed direction, prompting the group to withdraw.

“This decision was made to ensure project continuity, avoid wasting resources, and reduce the risk of having to start over, particularly for components requiring long-term planning such as route alignment, spatial organization, dike safety, and flood drainage,” he said.

Hoang stressed that the move should not be seen as a retreat. “For infrastructure developers, professionalism means doing things to the end when appropriate, and stopping at the right moment when necessary, always putting project efficiency and public interest first,” he added.

The Red River Scenic Boulevard project was initially proposed in early 2025 by a consortium led by Deo Ca Group and Van Phu Invest, which was later recognized in written by Hanoi authorities as the two core legal entities collaborating on the development.

Under the consortium’s proposal, the project aimed to build a road corridor along both banks of the Red River from Hong Ha Bridge to Me So Bridge, spanning about 40 km, with connections to inland waterway transport.

The proposed total investment was capped at more than VND348 trillion ($13.22 billion), to be implemented under a build-transfer (BT) model across a study area of roughly 11,000 hectares.

Last Friday, the project was launched alongside 234 other national key projects. Under the revised plan, the Red River Scenic Boulevard now carries a preliminary investment estimate of VND855 trillion ($32.49 billion) and will be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The project is scheduled to be completed and inaugurated on the occasion of the 100th founding anniversary of the CPV (February 3, 1930-2030).

At the launch ceremony, authorities announced a new investment consortium comprising Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment Corporation, Van Phu Real Estate Development JSC, MIK Group Vietnam JSC, Truong Hai Group (Thaco), T&T Group, and Hoa Phat Group, which said the project would be developed in an integrated and large-scale manner.

Stretching along the Red River from Hong Ha Bridge to Me So Bridge, the project covers roughly 11,000 hectares across 19 communes and wards within Hanoi’s administrative boundaries.

The complex includes an 80km main traffic artery, approximately 3,300 hectares of landscaped parks and recreational areas, and about 2,100 hectares for urban redevelopment.

Specifically, it is part on the right bank of the Red River passes through 12 communes and wards - O Dien, Thuong Cat, Dong Ngac, Phu Thuong, Hong Ha, Vinh Tuy, Vinh Hung, Linh Nam, Hoang Mai, Thanh Tri, Nam Phu, and Hong Van.

The part on the left river bank runs through seven communes and wards - Me Linh, Thien Loc, Vinh Thanh, Dong Anh, Bo De, Long Bien, and Bat Trang.

According to project documents, the development will comprise several independent sub-projects. These include road boulevards and landscape parks on both the left and right banks of the Red River, a 42-km underground metro line along the right bank, and on-site resettlement housing in the form of high-rise apartment buildings. Additional resettlement areas may be built on land allocated to investors as part of payment arrangements.