HOANG QUOC VIET: THE ROAD THAT CHANGED THE FACE OF THE “TOURISM CAPITAL OF THE NORTH”

As the first road invested with a non-government budget, Hoang Quoc Viet is one of the most beautiful avenues in Quang Ninh. But remembering the early days of construction, just one night of rough seas could make the work of the whole day return to the dust…

Hoang Quoc Viet road, Hung Thang ward, Ha Long city begins from one the intersection of Don Dien area, taking the 10-lane road on National Highway 18, the pair of 6-lane double roads, with the hard divider running straight to Bai Chay tourist area.

Hoang Quoc Viet Road is seen from above

At the beginning of the 90s of the last century, although there had been more than 10 years of renovation, the reality in the locality was still heavy with the remnants of the subsidized command economy and the incomplete market mechanism. Public infrastructure works still relied on the State budget, so socio-economic development was very limited. At that time, the collective leadership of Quang Ninh province for the period 1990 - 1995 actively proposed to the Party and State to allow Quang Ninh province to pilot "exchanging land for construction", that is, to assign the private individuals to take an infrastructure project, in return for them having an area of ​​land corresponding to the amount invested in that work, to do business in urban infrastructure under the new planning.

Approved by the Party and State, Quang Ninh has knocked on the doors of major economic centers such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to call for investors. It was challenging to invite more than a dozen investors into the field of infrastructure construction, at that time there was no real estate business. But most of them come and go, they retreat because Quang Ninh is a semi-mountainous coastal land, and the main source of income is coal production, seaport, import and export. Tourism is minimal since Bai Chay beach only operates seasonally. Even in the summer, on the bay, there are only a few cruise ships operating, namely the Waves I and II ships of Quang Ninh Tourism Company and a sea-visiting service ship belonging to the Vietnam Trade Union industry.

Enthusiastic investors have not finished counting on the fingertips of one hand. Finally, there are 4 investors, including 2 state-owned enterprises, namely LICOGI Corporation, Cienco 5 Corporation; 2 businessmen, Doan Quoc Viet and Dao Hong Tuyen. Mr. Dao Hong Tuyen received the construction of a road connecting Tuan Chau island with the mainland. Mr. Doan Quoc Viet received the work to build a road off the muddy tidal flat, in the area of ​​Hung Thang island commune to Bai Chay international tourist area.

The muddy mangrove in Hung Thang island commune (documentary photo)

Mr. Ha Van Hien, former Secretary of Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee (third, from the left) was listening to the report of Mr. Doan Quoc Viet, Chairman of BIM Group (documentary photo)

Former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet (left) and Mr. Doan Quoc Viet at the construction site of Hoang Quoc Viet Road

Both constructions on the first day of operation were like throwing money into the sea. The arduous work of turning the dike to encroach on the sea is often at risk due to the weather. Sometimes, the day before, hundreds of blocks of soil were poured into the tidal flat, the shape of the earth shoal still clearly visible, but after only one night of rough seas, it was flattened by the waves. The road was started by BIM Group of Mr. Doan Quoc Viet at the end of 1991, over 4,000m long, 42m wide, with 6 lanes, a two-way road, hard medians planted with flowers, and sidewalks 5m wide on each side. The largest boulevard in Quang Ninh province at that time was used many times for the Ha Long Carnaval festival. The road is not only valuable for traffic, but also as a backbone, creating a driving force for the development of the East Hung Thang urban area and a premise to expand the land fund into developing the Halong Marina tourist urban area project with a scale of 248 ha, total investment capital is more than 2 billion USD.

Tall trees on both sides of the road

Hoang Quoc Viet Road has gone through 3 decades since laying the foundation and is still looking new among the most beautiful streets in Quang Ninh. The first road in Quang Ninh and nationwide invested with non- government budget resources and served as the basis for the Party and State to develop mechanisms and policies on the socialization of investment in infrastructure, especially in infrastructure projects, creating a driving force for socio-economic development is one of the three strategic breakthroughs to bring many localities up. The person who laid the foundation for this project was Mr. Ha Van Hien - former Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee (later Chairman of the National Assembly Economic Committee and retired). BIM Group is an enterprise that has pioneered constructing infrastructure. Up until now, Quang Ninh province has inherited the milestone of investment projects with non-government budget resources, taking public investment to lead private investment, and creating many works that are a significant driving force for socio-economic development.

Leading through Halong Marina Tourist Urban Area - where luxury resort projects such as InterContinental Halong Bay or Sailing Club Signature Resort Halong are present, Hoang Quoc Viet Road’s flowers bloom all year round, contributing to creating a highlight of the atmosphere with architectural space with green landscape. Ha Long Bay welcomes visitors like that and visitors also feel relieved after the speeding highway.