Thong told the Daily that the decision was made at a meeting on evaluation and selection of planning consultants on Monday.

There were three consulting consortiums applying for the consulting deal, including the Institute of Architecture, Urban and Rural Planning and France-based AREP; US-based Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and Vietnam National Construction Corporation (VNCC); Perkins Will and Aurecon.

According to Quang Ninh province, these are large and leading companies in designing, architecture, overall urban planning, infrastructure, urban consulting and management.

The evaluation committee will have a meeting with the Ministry of Construction and the Vietnam Institute of Economics in the coming time to calculate cost estimates for the province’s overall development plan, Thong said.

The development plan aims to meet socio-economic development requirements of Quang Ninh province, especially the industrial development and urbanisation.

Quang Ninh province will be developed into two areas. Specifically, the east area will be a special economic zone while the west area will consist of a series of urban areas along National Highway 1A.