Ho Chi Minh City has proposed a century-long development vision built around five growth hubs and five satellite centers, with 18 metro lines and a target for public transport to carry up to 65% of passengers by 2050.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee formally submitted its master plan for 2025-2050, with a 100-year vision, to the municipal People's Council at its sixth session, a special meeting held on October 29.
Opening the session, People's Council Chairman Vo Van Minh said the city's expanded administrative boundaries had created greater opportunities for development while also bringing higher expectations for economic growth, infrastructure connectivity, urban governance, environmental protection and residents' quality of life.
Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Chairman Vo Van Minh delivers the opening remarks at the council's sixth session, a special meeting held on October 29. Photo: Phuoc Sang
Minh stressed that the city must rapidly turn its potential into growth drivers, policy mechanisms into concrete action and available resources into measurable results.
The ultimate objective, he said, is to achieve double-digit economic growth while ensuring development remains sustainable and inclusive.
He described the master plan as a strategic framework that would shape Ho Chi Minh City's long-term urban structure and competitiveness.
Rather than continuing to develop through fragmented administrative boundaries, industries and individual projects, the city must function as an integrated, multi-polar and multi-center urban system with people at its core.
The plan, Minh said, must be scientifically grounded, forward-looking and coordinated while addressing persistent problems such as traffic congestion, flooding and environmental pollution.
Presenting the proposal, municipal Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong said the administrative merger had transformed Ho Chi Minh City into a megacity with closely interconnected economic, industrial, port and infrastructure systems.
Integrating the development plans of the three former localities into a single master plan was therefore essential to overcome fragmentation, overlapping development priorities and inconsistencies in infrastructure planning.
Under the proposed roadmap, Ho Chi Minh City aims to become one of Southeast Asia's leading modern, smart cities by 2030.
By 2045, it seeks to establish itself as a major Asian center for economic activity, culture, social development, science, technology and innovation.
Looking toward 2075 and beyond, the city aspires to become a globally competitive metropolis comparable with the world's leading urban centers.
Five growth hubs and five satellite centers
Ho Chi Minh City Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong presents the proposed 2025-2050 master plan and its 100-year development vision. Photo: Phuoc Sang
According to Cuong, the master plan adopts a multi-polar, multi-center megacity model organized around five growth hubs, five satellite centers, five strategic connectivity systems and 10 development management zones.
The central urban core will focus on international financial services and innovation.
The northern area will prioritize industrial development, high technology and logistics, while the southern area will concentrate on seaports, free trade and energy.
The western area will be developed around urban services, education and healthcare.
The five proposed satellite centers are Con Dao, Long Hai - Ho Tram, Hoc Mon - Cu Chi, Bau Bang, and Tan Uyen - Bac Tan Uyen.
The Saigon and Dong Nai rivers, together with the Can Gio mangrove forest, will form the city's principal green and blue infrastructure network, supporting environmental protection and sustainable urban development.
In terms of land use, the total area designated for construction is projected to reach 280,000-290,000 hectares by 2030, increasing to 365,000-390,000 hectares by 2050.
The city will prioritize compact urban development based on transit-oriented development (TOD), concentrating housing, commercial activities and public services around major transport hubs.
The approach will also incorporate three-dimensional spatial planning, integrating development at ground level, underground and above ground.
On the economic front, the master plan identifies 10 priority industries and sectors across four core groups.
Advanced manufacturing is expected to contribute 0.8-0.95 percentage points to economic growth, while the development of a regional financial center is projected to contribute 0.74-0.84 percentage points.
In education, Ho Chi Minh City aims to become one of Asia's leading centers for higher education, science and technology by 2050, serving approximately two million university students.
To support this ambition, the city plans to allocate an additional 1,400-2,000 hectares for higher education facilities between 2030 and 2050.
In healthcare, the city targets 45 hospital beds and 35 doctors per 10,000 residents by 2045.
The plan also prioritizes social housing, rental accommodation and housing for industrial workers, with residential developments linked to public transport networks and employment centers.
18 metro lines and 450 kilometers of tramways planned
An overview of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council's sixth session on October 29. Photo: Phuoc Sang
Transport infrastructure is one of the central pillars of the proposed master plan.
The city aims to increase public transport's share of passenger travel to 55-65%, reducing dependence on private vehicles and improving mobility across the expanded metropolitan area.
By 2050, Ho Chi Minh City plans to complete 18 urban railway lines with a combined length of 961 kilometers.
The network would be complemented by approximately 450 kilometers of tramways, providing additional surface-level rail connections.
The city also plans to establish multimodal transport hubs linking railway stations, airports, seaports and major urban centers, allowing passengers and freight to move more efficiently between different transport systems.
Maritime transport infrastructure will include approximately 322 kilometers of navigational channels connected to the Cai Mep - Thi Vai international gateway port complex.
To address flooding and land subsidence, the master plan combines engineering measures with non-structural solutions tailored to individual drainage basins.
The city will also classify areas into four groups based on their adaptation requirements for land subsidence.
Coastal and marine development will focus on strengthening connections between Can Gio, Cai Mep - Thi Vai, Vung Tau and Con Dao.
The plan identifies potential locations for offshore wind power projects and land reclamation, seeking to integrate marine economic development with long-term spatial planning.
Beyond transport and urban infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City intends to establish specialized functional zones, including an international financial center, free trade zones, a national energy industry center, high-tech parks, data centers and artificial intelligence facilities.
Over the longer term, the city will study the possibility of developing a special coastal economic zone in Vung Tau.
To finance the ambitious master plan, public investment will serve as a catalyst for attracting additional capital.
The city intends to mobilize private-sector resources through public-private partnerships (PPPs), while capturing increased land and infrastructure values generated by urban redevelopment.
These funding mechanisms are expected to support the transition from a geographically expanded urban area into an integrated megacity with stronger infrastructure, more diversified economic centers and greater international competitiveness.
Vietnamnet.vn
Podcast
.svg){kind=icon}
