By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee

South Korea will launch a joint public-private 'urban export' program to develop new cities in Vietnam based on the Korean new city model.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) said that a joint public-private assistance team headed by Minister Park Sang-woo visited Vietnam from July 15-17, where the two countries agreed to cooperate on large-scale projects such as urban development and high-speed rail construction in Vietnam.

The visit is aimed at concretizing the follow-up projects of the Urban Growth Partnership Program (UGPP), the outcome of President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to Vietnam in June last year, and supporting the participation of Korean companies and institutions in the construction of Vietnam's North-South high-speed railway.

Park first met with Vietnamese Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi in Hanoi on June 16 to discuss the UGPP and MOLIT's first urban export project, the development of the Southeast New City in northern Vietnam's Bac Ninh Province.

The two ministers then signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on urban and housing development and an action plan for smart city and social housing construction.

This is expected to pave the way for the participation of Korean companies and organizations in the development of cities such as the Southeast New City in Bac Ninh Province and the 'Plan to build 1 million social housing units' promoted by Vietnam at the central government level.

“Vietnam aims to increase its urbanization rate from 43 percent to 45 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030,” said Minister Nguyen, expressing hope that Korean companies will actively participate in Vietnam's urban and housing development through the UGPP.

In particular, he noted that the Vietnamese government recently approved a plan to build 1 million social housing units for industrial park workers and low-income earners by 2030.

“According to the Vietnamese government's urbanization rate target, Vietnam will add 20 million people to its cities by 2040,” Park said, adding, Korea's experience in promoting this rapid urbanization through the development of new cities and urban redevelopment will be a good example for Vietnam.”