Under the plan, which was publicised on May 15, the inner-city area will have 60 parks, including 18 new ones, by that year. The city will also renovate and upgrade the current 42 parks and flower gardens.

Hanoi will be divided into two major areas. The historic area bordered by the Red River dyke and Ring Road 2, will comprise the districts of Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, Dong Da and Hai Ba Trung, and part of Tay Ho district.

In this area, in addition to upgrading and renovating the existing parks, the city will plant more trees in other areas.

The expanded area will lie to the west of the historic inner area, bordered by the Nhue River dyke and Ring Road 3. That space will include the districts of Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan and Hoang Mai and part of Tay Ho, Ha Dong, Thanh Tri and Tu Liem districts. This area will form three centres - the West Lake and its vicinity, My Dinh and Yen So.

In the core urban area, all roads will have trees along them, and many streets like Nguyen Du, Lo Duc and Phan Dinh Phung will be covered with specific trees.

An estimated VND270.4 trillion (US$12.8 billion) will be invested in urban tree systems, including VND211 trillion for the city centre, VND51 trillion for satellite urban areas and VND8.4 trillion for ecological towns.

The municipal Department of Construction said it will coordinate with agencies and localities in building annual and five-year programmes and plans, and organising the effective implementation of projects.

Hanoi plans to encourage the mobilisation of all capital resources for the building of parks, flower gardens and lakes, said the department.

The capital city now has 280.17 ha of parks and 1,146 ha of lakes.