Under a plan recentlyannounced by Lao Cai People’s Committee, Sa Pa is expected torecord an average growth rate of 7.2 percent annually, becoming aneconomic and cultural centre of the province.
Theplan is the outcome of cooperation between the Lao Cai People’sCommittee and experts of the Aquitaine region of France .
The town will work as a cultural bridge for ethnic minorities in thenorthern region and a key trade hub in the north-western mountainousregion and the Vietnam-China border area.
Accordingto the plan, Sa Pa and its adjacent localities will be dividedinto five major tourist areas which will be developed on the basis oftourism themes including heritage tourism, in combination withagricultural ecological landscapes, primeval tourism, and tourismexploring the cultures of ethnic minorities.
SaPa town will be developed into nine sub-divisions, including a363ha core urban area with an expected population of 13,000 people.
During the development process, attention will be paid to issuesregarding technological infrastructure and environmental pollution.-VNA