Lam Dong (VNA) –The People’s Committee of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has madeplans to more than double Bao Loc city’s territory so that it can become a primarydriver of economic development in the region.
Bao Loc city’s size will be increased from its current 23,200ha to over59,700ha under the local master plan to develop the city by 2040. After the expansion,the city’s territory will cover Bao Lam district’s five communes of Loc An, LocTan, Loc Thanh, Loc Nam, and Tan Lac.
The move helps to speed up the urbanisation rate and build the city into asecond-tier urban area by 2020. Bao Loc aims to reach the standards forfirst-tier city by 2040 and become an attractive destination in the province.
The city’s population by 2030 is expected to reach 257,900 people, with thenumber rising to 320,000 by 2040.
Some 3,800ha of land will be zoned off to build urban areas by 2030, while4,800ha set aside for urban development by 2040.
Bao Loc city, previously called B’Lao, is located 120km away from Da Lat city.From 1958, it was chosen as the administrative centre of Lam Dong province.However, after 1975, when Da Lat city became the provincial hub, Bao Loc returnedto its previous name and became a town.
In 1994, Bao Loc district was separated into Bao Lam district and Bao Loc town.Bao Loc was then recognised as a third-tier urban area in 2009, and upgradedinto city in 2010.
Bao Loc city is famous for its tea, coffee, sericulture, mining, and manytourist sites such as Damb’ri waterfalls, Nam Phuong lake, and Da Ban stream. Agriculturaltourism has also been touted as a potential product in the province. -VNA