(News Portal – Dong Nai) - Establishing a plan to develop the Dong Nai river route through the province to exploit its potential for urban development, transportation, and tourism is considered an initial step to realize the river economic development goals.
The Dong Nai River section passing through the province has potential to support the province's economic and social development
Potential exploitation planning
In the provincial planning plan for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the province will form 6 corridors and 3 development belts. Among them, the Dong Nai river corridor is considered one of the most important because it is not only a landscape development corridor but also an economic and social development one.
According to the joint venture of the provincial planning consulting unit, the reason why the Dong Nai river corridor is considered the most important development corridor of the province is because the Dong Nai river belongs to the international maritime axis (group 5), converging many inland waterways and creeks deep into the mainland. On the other hand, throughout the river route from the north to the south of Vietnam, Dong Nai River is the axis of urban, rural, and natural landscape, the main feature of the layout of the province, and is also the driving force for urban development of the dynamic Southeast Region.
Dong Nai River is also an important natural axis providing water, regulating weather, developing energy and combating climate change. For Dong Nai province, Dong Nai river is also a spiritual and historical cultural axis associated with the formation and development of the province.
With those values and potential, in the plan to develop the Dong Nai river route through the province, the consulting unit consortium proposed a plan to divide it into 5 sections for appropriate exploitation planning.
For section 1 with a length of about 42km, passing through Tan Phu and Dinh Quan districts, the proposed development orientation is to focus on developing the tourism sector with eco-tourism, discovery, preserving natural landscapes... to take advantage of beautiful, famous landscapes. With the advantage of being located near major cities, prioritizing tourism development will also likely be highly efficient. In this section, Tan Phu and Dinh Quan towns are proposed to become tourism development hubs.
Meanwhile, Tri An lake is proposed as section 2 in the Dong Nai river development plan. With a water surface area of more than 32 thousand hectares, diverse landscapes and water ecosystems, this area is also targeted for developing tourism with high-end tourism products for entertainment. To achieve this goal, the province needs to continue building a project to preserve and develop Tri An Lake tourism, and at the same time, directing the development of Vinh An and La Nga towns to become focal points for tourism development.
For section 3, in the western part of Vinh Cuu district, the proposed plan is to combine tourism development associated with attractions of the historical site War Zone D, Rua island relics, gardens, and Chau Thoi mountain, as well as to develop riverside urban areas combined with the urban strip of Tan Uyen City, Binh Duong province.
The section of Dong Nai river through Bien Hoa city and north of Long Thanh district is identified as section 4 in the development plan. This section will be divided into 2 smaller subsections: 4a - the center of Bien Hoa City and 4b- in the south of Bien Hoa City and the north of Long Thanh City. This is an area with many advantages for developing river tourism and riverside urban areas as well as a network of parks and trees to diversify the landscape and urban space.
Nhon Trach district area will be the final section in the Dong Nai river development plan. For this area, tourism and riverside urban areas are also the main development orientations.
Systematic traffic connection
Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Thi Ngoc Loan said that the Dong Nai River was a beautiful river, however, in terms of tourism, up to now, exploiting the values of the Dong Nai River is still limited. One of the main causes leading to this situation is the lack of synchronization in connecting different types of transport, especially waterway and river transport. “In developing river tourism, it is impossible to go around the entire river without going ashore. However, currently there is a lack of wharfs so tourists can transfer from the river to the shore conveniently" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Loan shared.
Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Huynh Tan Loc, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction also said that in the current exploitation of the Dong Nai river route, the weakness lies in connecting different types of traffic. Therefore, Mr. Loc noted that the consulting unit needs to come up with plans to connect waterway, roads, railroads and air traffic in preparation for when Bien Hoa airport is put into dual use. Connecting different types of transportation not only serves tourism and urban development but also serves the transportation of goods.
According to Acting Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Tan Duc, for the development plan of the Dong Nai river route, the consulting unit needs to come up with a natural plan. Urbanization needs to go hand in hand with riverside parks. In regional connection, there needs to be synchronous planning with other localities along the river route. In particular, connecting traffic, especially water transport and road systems, creates a synchronous transport infrastructure network.