Accordingly, the new urban areas will be built from Saigon Bridge to the National Cultural and Historical Park, over a surface area of 577 ha and a length of nearly 15km. The other direction from Saigon Bridge to the downtown will have no new residential areas since the population there is dense enough.
The to-be urban areas consist of:
_Zone A – Thao Dien (in Thao Dien Ward) with an area of more than 37ha, a population of 12,700 residents, and a maximum height of 35 floors;
_Zone B – An Phu (in An Phu Ward) with an area of more than 71, a population of 22,200 residents, and a maximum height of 40 floors;
_Zone C – Rach Chiec (in An Phu Ward) with an area of 33ha, a population of 3,500 residents, and a maximum height of 26 floors;
_Zone D – Phuoc Long (in Truong Tho Ward) with an area of more than 127ha, a population of 24,900 residents, and a maximum height of 45 floors;
_Zone E – Binh Thai (in Truong Tho Ward) with an area of 82ha, a population of 2,500 residents, and a maximum height of 26 floors;
_Zone F – Th Duc (in Binh Tho Ward) with an area of more than 38ha, a population of 6,000 residents, and a maximum height of 20 floors;
_Zone H – Hi-tech Park (in Linh Trung Ward) with an area of 42ha, a population of 5,600 residents, and a maximum height of 25 floors;
_Zone K – Suoi Tien (in Tan Phu Ward) with an area of 40ha, a population of 900 residents, and a maximum height of 15 floors;
_Zone L – new East Coach Station (in Long Binh Ward) with an area of 37ha, a population of 3,500 residents, and a maximum height of 15 floors;
_Zone G – near Thu Duc Water Plant (in Hiep Phu Ward), with an area of over 32ha, a population of 4,700 residents, and a maximum height of 20 floors.
The above urban areas will have multi-functional buildings, high-rise apartment buildings within 200-400 meters from the metro station. The square area of the stations is planned for pedestrian streets, parking lots, and public parks to serve local people there.
Experts highly praised this decision of HCMC as it follows the footstep of many mega cities in the world, effectively addressing the issue of urban traffic for a more sustainable development. More importantly, if exploited smartly, the land resource along main routes will create stable revenues to be used for further city growth.
