The city is also expected to become an economic, cultural, scientific-technological, administrative, education-training, tourism, services, and transport centre and fuel socio-economic development of Thanh Hoa and the region in general.

The province hired Korean consultants to devise a planning for Sam Son city which is set to be divided into 11 key administrative functional areas, including an administrative and political hub, public spaces, urban parks and tourist areas, handicraft clusters, and land for national defence, religious affairs and cultivation, among others.

The master plan also considers linking Sam Son with Thanh Hoa city, major local economic and tourist areas such as Hai Tien, Hai Hoa and local relic sites.

It covers the entire Sam Son city with eight wards and three communes on a site of nearly 4,500ha. It is home to 250,000 population and roughly 3,908ha for urban construction.