The delegation of the Prime Minister last weekend had a working session with HCMC about its current socio-economic status and the implementation of Resolution 98/2023/QH15 on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of the city, while also chaired the 4th meeting of the Southeast Regional Coordination Council.
On the same day, the recent inauguration of the underground tunnel at the Tran Quoc Hoan - Phan Thuc Duyen Intersection in Tan Binh District, following over a year of construction, marked a significant milestone in HCMC’s infrastructure development. This project, part of the Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa road development, directly connects to Terminal T3 of Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Upon completion, the entire route will alleviate traffic congestion on Cong Hoa and Truong Chinh roads, easing the burden at the airport gateway.
Exactly one year after Resolution 98 came into effect, HCMC has been actively utilizing special mechanisms to overcome numerous challenges. A notable breakthrough is the "2-in-1" approach, which combines regulatory and infrastructure development to tackle existing problems for traffic infrastructure growth.
The city has been granted the authority to implement Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects on existing roads and Build-Transfer (BT) projects with deferred payments, as well as to exploit land funds and develop TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) projects associated with metro lines 1 and 2 plus certain junctions and potential land areas on its Ring Road 3.
Take Group A projects like Ring Road 3 as an example. Thanks to the separation of these projects into investment and land clearance ones, the processing time has been reduced by half a year.
Lately, the Government has approved the investment policy for the HCMC – Moc Bai Expressway. This is the first inter-regional project to apply Resolution 98 in attracting social capital for urban transport infrastructure.
Within the special mechanisms framework, the identification of priority areas aligned with social, livelihood, and public needs has set clear timelines, progress, and outcomes for each project. As a result, many stalled projects have been revived, old projects completed and put into use, and new projects initiated, in correlation with future planning and leveraging the advantages of the new resolution despite still encountering several challenges.
The city's efforts extend beyond project clearance to include reorganization, allocation, and restructuring within the overall planning framework, adapting to the world's, region's, and nation's new conditions, pace of development, and trends.
Furthermore, the flexibility of the new mechanisms has facilitated not only the improvement of traffic flow but also the development of piloting institutions and policies for HCMC.
For instance, the city is focusing on developing industrial infrastructure with the Can Gio International Transshipment Port, the Pharmaceutical Industrial Park, and the expanded Saigon Hi-tech Park; building service infrastructure with a network of specialized and high-end satellite hospitals; and developing infrastructure to support the HCMC International Financial Center project.
From Resolution 98 to Decree 84/2024/ND-CP on July 10, 2024 (piloting the decentralization of state management in certain areas for HCMC’s government), there has been a concrete step towards decentralization and delegation of authority to the city, reflecting the central government's strong and practical support.
One of the immediate effects of Decree 84 is that HCMC is now authorized to grant import licenses for drugs to meet special treatment needs arising during the examination and treatment process, instead of relying on the Ministry of Health. This decentralization will create many advantages and open up new prospects for the city to be more proactive in drug supply.
Once the city has established three specialized medical clusters, it must ensure adequate and timely drug supply and develop a specialized medical workforce. This essential linkage, once unlocked, will drive synchronous development and deliver the best possible services to the people.
All the achievements that have served the people are evidence of the "resolution coming to life" and the most deserving vote of confidence from the people in the government's responsibilities.
