Shaping a green urban future

Expanding green growth spaces

Since 2022, Can Tho City has set a goal of moving toward a green, carbon-neutral economy that contributes to global efforts to limit temperature rise. Following administrative consolidation, this orientation is still evident, but with an expanded spatial vision and a focus on new development zones.

Since 2022, Can Tho set targets that by 2030, greenhouse gas emission intensity per GRDP will decrease by at least 15% compared to 2014, and by 2050, decrease by at least 30% compared to 2014.

Decision No. 909/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the Master Planning Task for Can Tho City to 2050, with a vision to 2075, shapes a development model based on green growth, efficient resource utilization, and enhanced climate resilience. Concurrently, it promotes green industry, circular economy, and leads low-emission agricultural value chains. Thus, the green element is placed not only within the environmental sector but has become a component of the new growth model.

In transportation, planning directs multi-modal development, including waterway transport, public transit, urban rail, and space for green vehicles. If deployed in a synchronized manner, reducing dependence on fossil-fuel vehicles will contribute to emission reduction while leveraging Can Tho's riverine urban advantages.

Similarly, Can Tho City's Planning requires calculating energy demand, supply systems, and transmission infrastructure by stage, while taking into account energy types alongside gasoline, oil, and gas. This leaves room for the city to step-by-step integrate clean energy, renewable energy, and solutions serving energy transition.

Green, low-carbon cities

Alongside planning orientations, on May 15, 2026, the Can Tho City People's Committee issued Plan 223/KH-UBND implementing Prime Minister Directive No. 04/CT-TTg on stepping up the execution of the Scheme "Development of Vietnamese Urban Areas Responding to Climate Change for the 2021-2030 Period."

This plan continues to set specific tasks for each department and branch regarding green, low-carbon, and climate-resilient urban development goals. Typically, the Department of Construction will draft and implement the Scheme for developing green parks, trees, and urban water surfaces, while promptly proposing supplementary urban development solutions that respond to climate change, low carbon emissions, green growth, and smart cities. The Department of Science and Technology will research the application of appropriate technical and technological solutions to develop climate-resilient, green-growth urban areas.

One of the representative projects for this new planning mindset is "Developing Climate-Resilient Green Urban Areas" in Dai Thanh and Nga Bay Wards. The project holds a total investment capital of over 1,211 billion VND funded by AFD loans, non-refundable ODA, and local counterpart funds.

The project aims to simultaneously address 3 objectives: reducing urban flooding, improving the water environment, and expanding public spaces. If proven effective, this will serve as a model for Can Tho to replicate in other urban areas.

With established orientations and a series of ongoing projects, Can Tho City is step by step laying the foundation for a green, climate-resilient, and low-carbon urban area.

$ 1 = VND 26,270 - Source: Vietcombank.