Potential for night-time economic development at Vinh Lake

"Green lungs" of the city

The regulating lake is the largest reservoir in Vinh city with a total area of ​​53ha, a water surface area of ​​40ha, located at the end of the North canal, in the low-lying area bordering Hung Loc commune, Hung Hoa commune and Hung Dung ward. The regulating lake plays an important role in reducing urban flooding, improving ecology and environment, and enhancing the ability to adapt to climate change.

In addition, the development of the regulating lake park and surrounding functional areas contributes to perfecting the architectural space and creating a landscape for Vinh city. In 2017, the regulating lake was officially put into use, known as one of the "green lungs" of the city.

According to the reporter, the lake is currently one of the attractive destinations for people in Vinh city. During the day, the number of people coming here to walk, exercise, fish... is quite crowded. At night, the air is cool, there is less traffic, the lighting system is upgraded, this place becomes a meeting place for many people; the food and beverage services... are bustling.

However, there are still many shortcomings in the management of the regulating lake. According to regulations, the regulating lake is a public project, with the function of improving the environment, serving people's entertainment and recreation, and is not allowed to do business within the lake's premises, especially in the park area or on green grass.

However, in reality, the situation of businesses spontaneously displaying goods, tables and chairs, occupying the lake area for business is common. This has caused many consequences, especially environmental pollution, loss of security and order, and urban beauty at this ecological spot. The situation of littering around the lake and under the lake occurs frequently.

According to the reporter's investigation, Vinh City's regulating lake is currently managed by many units, requiring close and smooth coordination between units. For the water surface and the operation of the items and functions of the lake, it is managed by Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company; for the green tree system, parks, and lawns, it is managed by Vinh City Green Parks Joint Stock Company; for the state management function, ensuring security and order, etc., it is jointly managed by the authorities of 3 localities including Hung Hoa commune, Hung Loc commune and Hung Dung ward, mainly concentrated in Hung Hoa and Hung Loc communes, Hung Dung ward only manages a small area from Kenh Bac bridge down.

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The locality is assigned the task of state management in a part of the lake area. In fact, the situation of households occupying the lake for business has been quite common in recent times. The locality has also propagated, reminded, and issued fines, but re-encroachment still occurs. The most difficult thing is that the demand for food and drink of people when coming to the lake is very large, there is supply, there is demand, so harmoniously handling this situation is still a difficult problem!

Mr. Cao Van Cuong - Vice Chairman of Hung Loc Commune People's Committee

Call for business investment

Mr. Duong Xuan Tham - Vice Chairman of Hung Hoa Commune People's Committee said: Since the time the regulating lake was put into operation, this has been a familiar destination for many people in Vinh city and neighboring areas. There are times on weekend evenings, the locality estimates that about 1,000 people come to have fun, take a walk and enjoy the cool breeze, creating a bustling and vibrant scene.

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The current difficulty is that people's demand for services is high, while business and trading in the lake area is against the regulations and in fact the commune has also taken action to clear and handle illegal businesses. However, in the long term, given the great potential of the lake, the commune also hopes that the city can call for and connect businesses to invest in developing the night economy at the lake, because clearly there is still a lot of room for development around the lake.

Mr. Duong Xuan Tham - Vice Chairman of Hung Hoa Commune People's Committee

Sharing the same view, the Hung Loc commune government said: Doing business in the lake area is against the regulations, however, the area around the lake is still very large, the area managed by Hung Loc commune alone is about 5 hectares. If there are businesses investing in developing services here, it will create a highlight for tourism, open up entertainment space for people, preserve the landscape in the lake area, reduce the current business encroachment situation as well as create more revenue for the city.

Ms. Bui Thi Thuyet - a resident of Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city, often comes to the lake with her family to play, commented: Compared to Cao Thang night street or the walking street in Vinh city, the lake has more advantages, with an open, cool space, especially in the harsh weather conditions and intense heat in Nghe An. Many people hope that the city will pay attention to investing and developing the lake to become one of the tourist destinations in the area.

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Developing the night economy is one of the tasks that the city pays special attention to and has actually implemented models such as night streets, walking streets, food streets, etc. For the lake area, the potential for developing the night economy here is huge when owning a large, airy space, people gather in large numbers every evening, especially on weekends, the demand for services is very high, especially for eating and drinking, refreshments, etc.
Faced with such potential, the city has also had ideas to develop the night economy in this area. In the coming time, it will call on businesses to invest in entertainment venues and services around the lake to promote the strengths here, creating new destinations on the city's tourism map.

Mr. Tran Quang Lam - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee