Hoi An (VNA) - A project to encourage morepeople to cycle and help the environment has won a global award.

The ‘Establishing Comprehensive Bicycle Plan andFree/low-cost Bicycle Sharing Programme in Hoi An city’ project scooped theGlobal Urban Mobility Challenge Award of the Transformative Urban MobilityInitiative.

Head of the city’s Culture and Information OfficeNguyen Van Lanh said the project, which was proposed by HeathBridge Vietnam andthe city with funding from German development agency (GIZ), will pick up theprize at an official ceremony for the 10 winning proposals in Leipzig, Germanyon May 22-25.

Lanh said the scheme aims to build up a masterplan of ‘green’ and sustainable traffic development with two focuses on roadtraffic safety and community heath.

He said the project plans to launch the first freeand low-cost bicycle for lease in the Public-Private Partnership co-operationand sharing with current similar services at hotels and resorts in Hoi An.

The project also includes the development of asafe infrastructure for bicycle riders, offering opportunities for residentsand tourists to cycle easier.

The city also encourages local people and touriststo leave cars and buses while traveling in the city and nearby destinations.

Hoi An, the UNESCO-recognised world heritage site,is the first city in Vietnam to organise a Car-free Day programme.

Since 2002, the city set up several streets forpedestrian and non-engine vehicles to reduce noise and ensure people’s safetyin the old quarter.

Last year, public battery-powered car routes werelaunched as a pilot scheme to boost environment-friendly public transport inthe tourism hub of central Vietnam.

The city also plans to provide 100,000 bicyclesfor residents in order to become the first eco-city in Vietnam.

Bicycles are the favoured mode of transport fortourists, local women and children visiting destinations of the city, suburband beaches.
The UNESCO-recognised world heritage city haslaunched a solar-power system for public lighting, loud-speakers and lanternsin the old quarter of the city.

In 2013, in cooperation with UNESCO and the KoreanInternational Cooperation Agency (KOICA), it also debuted a solar power systemat Hoai River Square and Cham Island.

In 2016, Hoi An, and Naha City, the capital ofOkinawa Prefecture, agreed to develop Hoi An into the first eco-city in Vietnam.

It has also been praised for its efforts to banplastic bags and for its 3R (reduce, re-use and recycle) programme.

In 2015, it began the first trial of a public vanroute with funding from the Japan Fund for Global Environment.

Hoi An was chosen for the 2013 Townscape Award bythe UN-Habitat Regional Office in Asia, while the city’s Hoai River and itschannels featured in the list of the 10 most-famous canals in the world by theUS-based travel website www.touropia.com in 2014.

Covering an area of 60sq.km, the tourism hub hasnow has 22.5sq.km covered with farms and forests and 11sq.km filled with lakesand channels.
Hoi An welcomed more than 2.5 millionforeigners last year.-VNA