On August 6, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council’s Urban Affairs Committee conducted its second working session with the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS), the agency in charge of preparing the city’s master plan, to review progress on the Ho Chi Minh City Master Plan with a 100-year vision.
According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, the city is oriented toward becoming a global, modern, smart, dynamic, and innovative metropolis, with people placed at the center of development. The city will also continue improving living standards and building a safe, civilized, inclusive, and highly attractive living environment for talents, experts, businesses, and domestic and international investors.
With a 100-year vision, Ho Chi Minh City aims to become a “global, smart, modern and comprehensive metropolis on par with the world’s leading cities,” developing as a megacity that strikes a harmonious balance between economic growth, environmental protection, social equity, and the preservation and promotion of cultural values.
Commenting on the master plan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Trong Thuat, Rector of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture, said the draft closely follows the orientations set out in Politburo Resolution No. 09-NQ/TW on building and developing Ho Chi Minh City in the new era.
However, the city needs to clearly identify the strategic development pillars to be prioritized at each stage in order to make effective use of available resources and establish a foundation for developing specific performance measurement criteria. This would enable an accurate assessment of progress toward its development targets.
Head of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council’s Urban Affairs Committee, Hoang Tung, called on the drafting agency to incorporate feedback from ministries and central agencies, particularly the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance. He also stressed the need to ensure continuity with previously approved plans and prepare a separate report on these plans, including a review and analysis of major areas requiring adjustment.
He noted that the master planning process remains on schedule. However, to accelerate completion of the planning maps, he proposed that the plan be submitted earlier, in September, instead of October as originally scheduled.
