The conference saw the presence of Standing Vice Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Phan Van Mai, Chairwoman of the People’s Council of the City Nguyen Thi Le, Prof. Dr. Vu Hai Quan, Director of the Vietnam National University—Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), leaders and former leaders of provinces and cities, and representatives of diplomatic missions and businesses.
Resolving obstacles and opening up new development spaces
Speaking at the conference, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thu Duc City Hoang Tung said that the master planning for Thu Duc City until 2040 was approved by the Prime Minister on January 21. It is the important legal basis for developing spaces, organizing economic and social infrastructure, and land use planning to fully exploit and maximize the city’s potential and strengths for the concretization of its development goals.
Thu Duc City is a first-class urban area under HCMC, serving as a land, railway, maritime, and inland waterway transportation hub for the Southeast region. It is also the Eastern center of Ho Chi Minh City in terms of economy, science and technology, culture, education, and training. It will have a population of up to 1.8 million by 2030, 2.6 million by 2040, and 3 million after 2040. Thu Duc is geographically divided into nine zones corresponding to 11 key development areas.
The Master Plan for Thu Duc City until 2040 will have a significant impact on various aspects of the “city within a city,” including resolving problems in granting construction permits and the legitimate needs of residents and businesses.
Transportation infrastructure will open new spaces for the development of nine urban railway lines and inter-regional traffic routes connecting Thu Duc City with the rest areas of Ho Chi Minh City and Long Thanh International Airport, meeting 50 percent - 60 percent of travel demand; the urban development will be aligned with transportation-oriented development (TOD). The city will developb many new roads including the route linking Cat Lai and Phu Huu ports, the Ring Road 3 intersection, Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh–Dau Giay expressway, and the route connecting Ring Road 2 and Ho Chi Minh City–Chon Thanh expressway.
Thu Duc City will increase the land area for urban educational facilities, urban healthcare establishments, and cultural and sports facilities, including the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex and a green park area of 1,800 hectares.
Providing information on the master plan for Thu Duc City to every household
In his speech, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, Phan Van Mai, emphasized it is an opportunity to fully implement specific policies and mechanisms under Resolution 98 for the development of Ho Chi Minh City, reaffirming its position and opening up strong growth opportunities for Thu Duc City.
The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee suggested Thu Duc City widely announce the master plan to every quarter and household in the city to call on people to join hands with the local authorities to carry out the master plan.
Additionally, Thu Duc City needs to coordinate with relevant departments and agencies to build detailed action plans in accordance with the approved planning, including conducting surveys on the nine development zones and working with localities to establish a development roadmap for each phase.
The People's Committee of Thu Duc City needs to promptly complete the sub-zone planning by September of this year at the latest.
In particular, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai suggested that Thu Duc City focus on attracting investments to complete the Thu Thiem new urban area associated with the international financial center, finalize the investments in the University Urban Area, and expand the High-Tech Park in phase 2 before 2030.
He also noted that Thu Duc City should strengthen the cooperation with localities of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, invest in the development of high-quality human resources, and strongly implement administrative reforms.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van acknowledged that the approval of the master planning for Thu Duc City until 2040 is the important legal basis for the city’s government to manage investment attraction and urban development, create quality urban spaces, and develop key infrastructure projects in the area.
The Ministry of Construction proposed that the People's Committee of HCMC delegate Thu Duc City to coordinate with ministries and agencies to urgently develop a plan to implement the master plan; review and adjust the zoning plans, detailed urban design plans, and investment projects to ensure consistency and unity in the planning and development investment; issue an urban development program and regulations on architectural management soon; and build iconic architectural works, aiming to improve urban quality and residents' living environment.
The Deputy Minister of Construction also emphasized that Thu Duc City should strictly protect natural rivers and streams, public spaces, natural values, and distinctive heritage sites, as well as carefully manage investment and development, construction order, and effective land use.
At the conference, Ho Chi Minh City provided information on 535 projects in Thu Duc City, with a total investment capital of over VND800 trillion (US$31.7 billion). The types of investment include land use rights auctions, organizing bidding to select investors, public-private partnerships (PPP), other methods according to investment laws, and investment from public investment capital.
On this occasion, Thu Duc City granted investment policy approval decisions for 12 housing development projects in 2024, with a total registered capital of more than VND33 trillion (US$1.3 billion).
