The project, in Hung Yen Province, is formally known as the Van Giang Commerce and Tourism Township but will go under the name of Eco-Park.

"Eco-park, being developed on a site of nearly 500ha, is currently the largest township development in northern Viet Nam," said Viet Hung general director Dao Ngoc Thanh, noting that the project would be built in nine phases.

The first phase would include villas and townhouses in a gated-community setting, with a commercial area on the eastern part of the site including low- and high-rise apartment buildings, said Viet Hung’s deputy director of urban development Nguyen The Vinh.

With over 110ha to be dedicated to green space and lakes, Eco-Park would present the perfect harmony of humanity and nature, a delicate balance between facilitating urban development and creating a natural environment, Thanh said.

"At Eco-Park, urban expansion and Mother Nature unite to create vast expanses of green space and blue water," he said, adding that the development would preserve uniquely Vietnamese aspects, both environmentally and culturally.

The most unique feature of the project would be an "Old Town" recreated to capture the feeling of villages and the Old Quarters in Ha Noi.

The master plan included a central development spine surrounded by an intricate water network and a variety of residential communities, Vinh said, with residential areas to account for 30 per cent of the overall site. The spine would include a central business district, waterfront district and the old-town district.

Recreational facilities would include an 18-hole golf course, as well as a central stadium and sport complex.

Eco-park would be developed over a period of 18 years.