The HCM City People's Council on Friday approved a master plan for 2025–50 with a 100-year vision. It lays the foundation for a polycentric megacity network designed to house more than 27 million people by mid-century.
The plan covers the city's entire administrative area of nearly 6,773sq.km across 168 administrative units. The study scope includes HCM City and neighbouring provinces Tây Ninh, Đồng Nai, Đồng Tháp and Lâm Đồng, along with related maritime spaces.
The population is projected to reach approximately 18 million by 2030, 25 million by 2045 and more than 27 million by 2050. The workforce is expected to grow to 8.2 million, 10.7 million and 11.3 million people respectively.
The municipal People's Committee chairman is expected to sign the approval decision in November to begin formal implementation.
Municipal People's Committee chairman Nguyễn Văn Được said the plan must quickly be turned into concrete action. “Once approved, the master plan must quickly become an operational tool for allocating resources and driving long-term development,” Được said.
The city administration will turn the blueprint into programmes, action plans and project portfolios, aligning them with public investment plans and attracting private resources through public-private partnerships and land value capture mechanisms.
The spatial framework moves the city from an aggregated post-merger structure to a unified urban network intended to strengthen regional economic specialisation.
The blueprint is organised around five growth poles, five strategic connection corridors, five satellite centres and 10 development management zones defined by geology, land capacity, infrastructure and environmental functions.
The five main growth poles include the central core of Saigon, Chợ Lớn and Thủ Thiêm, designated as an international financial centre. The eastern pole will focus on innovation and technology, while the northern pole will prioritise high-tech manufacturing, advanced technology and logistics.
The southern pole is assigned deep-sea ports, free trade zones, international logistics and energy development. The western pole will develop urban areas, higher education and specialised healthcare. The five satellite centres are Côn Đảo, Long Hải–Hồ Tràm, Hóc Môn–Củ Chi, Bàu Bàng and Tân Uyên–Bắc Tân Uyên.
Strategic connections will be maintained through north–south and east–west corridors, multi-tiered transport infrastructure and an integrated green and blue ecological network along the Sài Gòn and Đồng Nai rivers.
Delegates broadly supported the polycentric model but asked for several zones to be refined. They proposed including Bình Dương Ward in the eastern innovation zone to connect Thủ Đức, Thuận An, Dĩ An and Bắc Tân Uyên with Long Thành International Airport.
They also proposed extending the western education and healthcare pole from the former Bình Chánh area to Hóc Môn and assigning high-tech manufacturing functions across Củ Chi, based on four existing and four planned industrial parks.
Because of differing geological and hydrological characteristics, delegates recommended dividing the western region into north-western and south-western sub-regions. The north-west will focus on domestic logistics linked to Ring Roads 3 and 4, the HCM City–Mộc Bài Expressway and the Sài Gòn River. The south-west will serve as a logistics gateway to the Mekong Delta and develop eco-urban areas.
To ease pressure on the historic core, delegates called for lower population density, the gradual relocation of high-density residential functions and transit-oriented development nodes along metro lines.
Other proposals included developing Nhà Bè and Hiệp Phước while protecting the Cần Giờ mangrove biosphere reserve, and building a dedicated freight railway from the Cái Mép–Thị Vải deep-sea port cluster to industrial complexes and logistics hubs.
Trương Trung Kiên, director of the city's Department of Planning and Architecture, said the northern area's functions had already been set out in detail. “While the eastern zone will concentrate innovation and research, the northern area will include research and development centres, advanced training institutions and manufacturing support services,” Kiên said.
People's Council chairman Võ Văn Minh said the delegates' comments would be incorporated into the final document before it is signed. He said special attention would be given to coordination and support for local authorities in different development zones during implementation.
Sources: Viet Nam News
