SJ Group to build smart urban area in western Hanoi to bolster Hoa Lac High-tech Park

The complex, located in the western part of the capital city, features housing, education, healthcare, commerce, services, and other amenities, especially high-quality living space for scientists, experts, engineers, and students working and studying at the Hoa Lac High-tech Park and Hanoi National University.

The 17,000-hectare Hoa Lac area, with the 1,586-hectare high-tech park as its core, has been positioned as a science city, a key satellite city of Hanoi, and a major growth engine for the capital, centred on high technology, education and research.

SJ Group (HoSE: SJS), formerly known as Sudico, on Wednesday hosted a workshop themed "Building the Tien Xuan Smart Urban Area Plan: Creating a Smart City Vision" to acquire inputs for such a plan.

The event gathered representatives from government agencies, consultants including world-famous American urban planning giant Perkins Eastman, and authorities from Tien Xuan commune where the project will be located.

A residential and service hub of Hoa Lac science city

The city government has guided SJ Group to align the project with the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. The project will also be designed in line with Hanoi’s approved master plan and national strategies promoting science, technology, innovation and smart urban development.

The project site benefits from connectivity to Thang Long Boulevard and the future Metro Line No. 5 linking Van Cao to Hoa Lac, supporting the formation of an integrated enterprise-university-urban ecosystem in western Hanoi.

Hanoi on Friday broke ground on the over VND72 trillion ($2.74 billion) Metro Line 5 project (Van Cao-Ngoc Khanh-Lang- Hoa Lac), a crucial transportation route connecting the capital's center with the Hoa Lac satellite city. Van Cao is a street starting from the southern bank of Hanoi's West Lake.

The Van Cao-Hoa Lac Metro Line, with its Trai Moi, Tien Xuan, and Thach Binh stations, is considered an advantage in public transportation, helping the future urban area connect with the capital's technology and innovation development axis.

According to the Hanoi Capital Region planning project until 2030 and with a vision to 2050, Hanoi will have five satellite cities, namely Hoa Lac, Xuan Mai, Dong Anh, Me Linh and Soc Son, connected to the city center.

Among them, Hoa Lac, about 40 km from the Hoan Kiem Lake and having a large land fund of 17,000 hectares, will primarily function in science, technology, and education, with the focus on Hoa Lac High-tech Park and Hanoi National University.

According to SJ Group, the Tien Xuan project will follow a transit-oriented development model linked to Metro Line No. 5, while preserving green corridors, placing technical infrastructure underground and applying international green building standards.

Seeking stakeholder consultations

SJ Group said further stakeholder consultations and planning workshops will be conducted before finalizing the master plan and submitting it to authorities for approval.

According to Tran Nhu Trung, CEO of SJ Group, the development of smart and sustainable urban areas needs to be approached as "a living entity", rather than organized into separate functional segments.

Speaking at the workshop, Trung argued that many previous technology and urban areas failed to meet expectations due to a fragmented approach. "Functions such as technology, housing, education, commerce, culture, and sports were often arranged separately, lacking connectivity. When an urban area is fragmented, its components struggle to operate efficiently," he said.

"Urban areas are only truly vibrant when activities take place 24 hours a day, centered around people. Living spaces need to simultaneously meet the needs of housing, working, studying, cultural and social activities, sports, and provide an environment that fosters long-term resident loyalty," he added.

Architect Luu Duc Minh, deputy director of the Academy of Construction Cadre Training Strategy under the Ministry of Construction, commented that the essence of a smart urban area lies not in isolated technological solutions, but in a sustainable development mindset that connects people, the environment, and social responsibility.

According to Minh, traffic congestion, flooding, and pollution in many cities today mainly stem from a development mindset that lacks respect for the ecosystem. He emphasized that a smart urban area is not a technological destination, but a sustainable operating method that needs to be built on a foundation of basic planning and infrastructure.

"Urban areas need to shift their development mindset, from concrete construction to respecting water and nature, from flood control to coexisting with water, towards self-sustaining urban areas that meet the long-term living, working, and commuting needs of their residents," he added.

Architect Dinh Van Binh, a lecturer at Hanoi University of Architecture, emphasized that Tien Xuan possesses a unique geographical location, situated between natural spaces and the Hoa Lac education and technology development axis.

"This creates a favorable foundation for the formation of an integrated urban model, harmoniously blending modern development with its distinctive landscape."

Through the first workshop on Wednesday, participants agreed on the core principles and approaches for the Tien Xuan Smart Urban Area, aiming for a new-generation sustainable smart city model driven by science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation, while placing people and the community at the center.

This orientation aligns with Vietnam's long-term goals of green growth, sustainable development, and net-zero emissions.

The workshop also clarified the role of Tien Xuan within the overall Hoa Lac area, positioned as a core urban area providing living, learning, research, and essential services for the science and technology ecosystem.

Based on this, the principles of TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) model, linked to Metro Line No. 5, green belt preservation, undergrounding of technical infrastructure, and application of international green building standards, were agreed upon as overarching directions for the planning project.

In particular, with the participation of international and domestic consulting firms such as Perkins Eastman, Savills, and UBS, the workshop agreed on a three-step approach to planning: analyzing conditions, developing options, and selecting the optimal option, based on reference to proven urban models associated with universities, high-tech zones, and pedestrian-friendly urban areas worldwide.

Based on the initial results of the first workshop, SJ Group, along with consulting firms and stakeholders, will continue to refine the research content to support the planning process in subsequent phases.

SJ Group has selected Perkins Eastman as its strategic planning and design consultant. The duo signed a partnership agreement on the sidelines of the workshop.

The U.S.-based firm has worked on major urban developments worldwide and was part of the consortium involved in Hanoi’s master planning through 2030 with a vision to 2050.

Perkins Eastman is one of the world's leading companies of such a kind, with over 1,100 employees and 23 global offices. Its notable projects include Battery Park City (New York), District Wharf (Washington D.C.), Huishan North Bund (Shanghai), Capital Steel Master Plan (Beijing), Mumbai Port Trust Redevelopment (India), and numerous other internationally influential urban planning, CBD, and integrated urban development projects.

The team directly involved in the Tien Xuan project includes Perkins Eastman's top experts with 30-50 years of experience, notably Bradford Perkins, chairman of the board and chief planning officer, and Chao Ming Wu, project manager, along with the design team from the New York office.

Perkins Eastman is the lead consultant in a consortium that created the Hanoi Capital City Planning Project to 2030, with a vision to 2050.

To create a better environment for attracting investment, modern infrastructure is being built at Hoa Lac High-tech Park with funding from the state budget and Japanese ODA.

Investors in the hi-tech park are eligible to the highest incentives under the Hi-tech Law and "one-door" procedure mechanism.

SJ Group has selected Perkins Eastman as its strategic design and planning consultant. The Investor's Kim Ngan talks with Bradford Perkins, chairman of Perkins Eastman, on his thoughts about the prospects of Tien Xuan Smart Urban Area project and the planning of Hanoi.

You are the key consultant of the Tien Xuan Smart Urban Area project, and I see that it will be a prominent project in Hanoi given the important role of Hoa Lac, the very rapid urbanization process in Vietnam, and the demand for smart housing in Hanoi. What are your comments on the prospects of this project?

Hoa Lac currently has Hoa Lac High-tech Park and Hanoi National University. These two are very important, nationally imporant. But they need the third part because that's where Hoa Lac scientists, experts and staff will live, where their families will be, where their children will go to school. For many of the companies in Hoa Lac, there has to be a community.

What will make Hoa Lac connected easily to Hanoi's center? Metro Line No. 5 is coming and, of course, the highways. The role of Tien Xuan Smart Urban Area project is to create a community that will make the high-tech park and the univeristy successful. And it's very nice that each part supports the others, so it’s easier than most other projects in that as long as you do it right, there's no reason why it shouldn't be successful.

Infrastructure development is critical for any urban areas to be successful. Are you confident in the success of Tien Xuan given the Metro Line No. 5 which broke ground on Friday and the available Thang Long boulavard?

There’s big infrastructure, like the coming metro and and the highway. But then there has to be quality power and water, and all the things and all the policies to make it a smart township.

You’s are building a new community from scratch, but we know how to do it. There's no secret to doing a smart city today, the technology is all there, but you have to do it right. It's a big upfront investment, but there's no reason why that won't happen.

Are you glad to see the changes of Hanoi today, compared with what it was 17 years ago when you signed a consultancy contract with authorities on city planning, including the planning for Hoa Lac?

Hanoi has grown so much since I first first came here. I signed the contract with the Ministry of Construction and other people 17 years ago. Hanoi has done a pretty good job. The city changes so much now, but for the most part of it, it's good change.

I am particularly happy to see Hoa Lac finally happening. The decision to move Hanoi National University to Hoa Lac was made 17 years ago, now it's finally happening. I wish it had happened sooner, but this is probably the right time.

Fifteen years ago, there's a lot of debate about how fast Hanoi would grow. And I said, "it's a capital of a major country in Asia. It's going to grow faster than you think, it's going to grow." And of course, it has been, but happily, it's still Hanoi, so I really enjoy coming back here. It’s very nice to see that so much of the new development is keeping the city green, keeping the traffic under control. The beautiful parts of Hanoi are still there.

Hanoi is the only major capital city I can think of that has so much undeveloped land running right through the middle of the city, along the rivers, on both sides. We know how to do build on the rivers’ edge, even in case of Red River floods. We can manage that these days. And right now it's still there, ready to develop. I'm very optimistic about Vietnam.