Nghe An province aims to have 3 cities directly under the provincial administration by 2030.

At its regular meeting in October 2024, the People's Committee of Nghe An province approved the draft Urban Development Program of Nghe An province until 2030, with a vision to 2050.

According to the program, Nghe An province aims to have approximately 40-45 urban areas by 2030, including: 1 Type I urban area (expanded Vinh City), 2 Type III urban areas (Hoang Mai City and Thai Hoa City), 2 Type IV/III urban areas (Dien Chau town and Do Luong town), 15 district towns, and 20-25 sub-regional towns within districts.

Nghe An province also strives to achieve an urbanization rate of 34-36% by 2025 and 40-45% by 2030.

By 2050, the province's urbanization rate is projected to be in the upper-middle range nationwide; at least two leading cities will be established, serving as hubs for connection and development with the urban network of the province, region, and the nation.

The urban development perspective of Nghe An province is sustainable, based on a network structure and rationally distributed across 7 development zones, in accordance with the Nghe An provincial planning orientation for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, which has been approved by the Prime Minister.

Ensuring synchronization, uniformity, linkage, and balance between the internal and external regions, closely connecting Nghe An province with the provinces of North Central Vietnam, especially the central urban areas of the region with other urban areas in the region.

In addition, the plan involves gradually expanding the development space of key urban areas and regional cities, connecting the entire provincial urban network with a synchronous, complete, self-contained, and interconnected infrastructure system.

In this plan, the expanded Vinh city will be the central core urban area and a crucial growth pole of the province, closely linked with the core urban centers of the region and sub-region (Hoang Mai, Thai Hoa, Dien Chau, Do Luong, Quy Hop, Con Cuong) to form a "backbone" to spread, guide, and support the development of the entire province's urban system in a cohesive, sustainable, and multi-dimensional manner.

Developing integrated urban areas of reasonable scale (area, population) in a modern, distinctive direction, rich in the identity of Nghe An province, promoting characteristic cultural elements, pioneering and leading innovative activities, becoming a driving force for development and in line with the model of green, smart cities, adapting to climate change, preventing and mitigating natural disasters and epidemics.

According to the Provincial People's Committee, the development of the provincial urban development program aims to concretize the goals of building and developing Nghe An province until 2030, with a vision to 2045, as issued by the Politburo in Resolution No. 39; the plan for developing the entire provincial urban system is consistent with the Nghe An Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister, and other relevant plans, programs, and projects.

To gradually implement sustainable urban development, Nghe An province will develop key programs, projects, and research topics; including piloting the construction and implementation of the Vinh City Light City Project for the period 2024-2025, with consideration up to 2030.

The program also identifies priority investment projects; projected investment capital needs; implementation resources; a list of project groups and solutions for using capital in order of priority for program implementation, and urban development investment projects. The total projected capital need for urban development in Nghe An province from now until 2030 is 97,187 billion VND.

The draft Urban Development Program of Nghe An province until 2030, with a vision to 2050, will be reported by the Provincial People's Committee to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee for consideration and comments before being submitted to the Provincial People's Council for approval.