Ulaanbaatar
Law on Planning, Development, and Promotion of Kharkhorum City Approved
Society
Ulaanbaatar, January 31, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The historical Capital City of the Great Mongol Empire, Kharkhorum, is set to be revitalized, aimed at preserving the national history, cultural heritage of Mongolia, and nomadic civilization while promoting sustainable tourism, ensuring balanced regional development, and creating environmentally friendly and comfortable living conditions for residents. On December 20, 2024, the Government of Mongolia submitted a draft Law on Planning, Development, and Promotion of Kharkhorum City, along with accompanying legal and resolution proposals that were finalized and approved during the plenary session of the State Great Khural of Mongolia on January 23, 2025.
The Law establishes the legal framework for the planning, construction, and sustainable development of Kharkhorum City, including provisions for delegating certain municipal functions to private entities, integrating advanced information technologies into the city’s development as a “smart city,” and ensuring transparency in urban management and development efforts.
The law incorporates the requirements for urban planning and the principles to be adhered to in city development, which represent its distinctive regulatory features. In particular:
- Encouraging diverse, sustainable tourism based on the city’s historical and cultural landmarks, archaeological sites, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, natural features, and nomadic civilization;
- Ensuring that urban planning, development, and operations align with the common rights and interests of residents by providing equitable access to social services, fostering a humanitarian and multi-centered urban system;
- As defined by the General Development Plan, a minimum of 50 percent of urban residential areas must be allocated for green spaces;
- Enabling residents to access schools, kindergartens, social, cultural, and healthcare services, as well as recreational areas, public transport stops, green parks, and retail centers within 300 to 800 meters of their place of residence, based on the purpose of regionalization and population density;
- Promoting balanced regional development by aligning the city’s development with the regional concept and supporting the economic growth of the Khangai region to enable its independent development;
- Encouraging the adoption of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies;
- Establishing designated spaces for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).
