Ho Chi Minh City aims to achieve double-digit economic growth and collect more than VND1 quadrillion in state budget revenue this year by accelerating public investment, attracting private capital and expanding education infrastructure, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc said.
The Chairman of the municipal People's Committee said this at the Government's regular June 2026 meeting and an online conference between the Government and local authorities, presenting the city's key socio-economic development plans for the remainder of the year.
In the first six months of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City's economy grew 8.55 percent, with growth of 8.57 percent in the first quarter and 8.53 percent in the second quarter, contributing 24.5 percent of the country's GDP. It marked the city's highest growth rate in the past 10 years.
Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc said the city's investment environment had become more attractive in recent months, as reflected in the number of newly established businesses exceeding the number of companies exiting the market. While the ratio was negative in 2025, it has now risen to 1.07.
As of the end of June 2026, Ho Chi Minh City had disbursed more than VND51.6 trillion (US$1.96 billion) in public investment, equivalent to 35 percent of its assigned plan. The disbursement rate stood at only 9.2 percent in the first quarter and reached about 16.9 percent by the end of May, but increased by 18 percent in June alone.
The result was made possible because, at the beginning of June, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee boldly reassigned 46 officials from municipal departments, agencies and the city administration to wards, communes and state-owned corporations. Officials with outstanding capabilities were selected to take charge, significantly improving the effectiveness of public investment and the disbursement of public investment funds, Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc said.
On education and preparations for the new school year, Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc said that following the administrative merger, Ho Chi Minh City now covers a larger area with a population of more than 14 million, placing significant pressure on education investment.
In response, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee launched the "100 Days and Nights to Complete 1,000 Classrooms" program. Of the 73 projects under the program, 53 are scheduled for completion before Sept. 5, while the remainder are expected to be completed in December 2026.
The city leader also said that by mobilizing resources from both the private and public sectors through BT, BO and public investment models, Ho Chi Minh City has achieved a ratio of 280 classrooms per 10,000 residents. The city aims to raise that figure to 300 classrooms per 10,000 residents by the 2028-2029 school year.
Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, the city will introduce a free textbook lending program for students in Grades 1, 6 and 10, with plans to expand it to all grade levels by 2029. Separately, the city has allocated VND150 billion annually to provide free textbooks to disadvantaged students, ethnic minority students and children with disabilities, according to the city Chairman.
Despite the positive results, Ho Chi Minh City continues to face challenges, Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc said. Although economic growth reached its highest level in a decade at 8.55 percent, it remained below the city's target of 10 percent. Public investment disbursement also fell short of expectations, reaching 35 percent by the end of June against a target of 40 percent, and remained below the city's potential.
The city chairman forecast that the economy would continue to face significant difficulties and challenges in the second half of the year, but said Ho Chi Minh City remained committed to fulfilling its pledge to Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and the Party Central Committee by achieving double-digit economic growth and collecting more than VND1 quadrillion in state budget revenue.
To achieve those goals, Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc outlined three key measures.
First, the city will vigorously implement Conclusion No. 18 of the Party Central Committee and breakthrough resolutions issued by the Politburo and the National Assembly.
Second, to achieve annual growth of more than 10 percent, the economy must expand by 11 percent and 11.8 percent in the remaining two quarters. Ho Chi Minh City will mobilize all available private investment resources to support GRDP growth, ensure 100 percent disbursement of its public investment plan and accelerate the disbursement of public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Third, the city plans to approve its master plan in October to prepare for new investment inflows and support economic growth.
