5 satellite cities help alleviate congestion in Ho Chi Minh City center.

The suburban areas of Ho Chi Minh City are developing in a "spreading oil stain" pattern.

These five urban areas will be updated in the revised master plan for the construction of Ho Chi Minh City until 2040, with a vision to 2060, helping to alleviate pressure on the existing central area and open up new development spaces.

Things we haven't been able to accomplish in 25 years.

Developing Ho Chi Minh City into a satellite city is a goal the city has pursued for the past 25 years. The concentrated-multipolar model, established in 1998, uses the inner city as the central area with a radius of 15 km and is designed with four development poles. Accordingly, the existing central area (930 hectares) includes Districts 1, 3, 4, and Binh Thanh.

The four development directions include: the main direction to the East, which is the current Thu Duc City (the high-interaction, creative urban area in the East); the main direction to the South, which includes Districts 4, 7, 8, Nha Be District, and Can Gio District; the secondary direction to the Northwest, which includes District 12, Hoc Mon District, and Cu Chi District; and the secondary direction to the West-Southwest, which includes parts of Districts 7, 8, and Binh Chanh District.

However, the current situation shows that, apart from the old inner city which is the existing center, the adjacent areas are developing in a "spreading oil stain" pattern, and have not yet formed development hubs in any direction.

In particular, the main eastern direction has not yet seen the formation of large-scale, integrated urban areas. In reality, the numerous small-scale investment projects, scattered in location, significantly affect the connectivity of technical and social infrastructure.

Thu Duc City has not yet developed large, integrated urban areas.

In the southern direction, the infrastructure along the main Nguyen Huu Tho road is basically complete. Development projects along this route are concentrated within the southern boundary, extending to the surrounding areas. Although this direction shows a development trend, it is still slow. Specifically, the Hiep Phuoc urban area, since the approval of the general planning project, has not yet completed the 1/2,000 scale zoning plan.

In the Northwest direction, with the Northwest Urban Area as the development hub, although the general plan and the 1/2,000 scale zoning plan have been completed, urban and residential area projects are progressing very slowly or not at all. Examples include the Tan Thoi Nhi and Tay Hiep urban residential areas, the Vietnam International University (VIUT) urban area, and the District 12 ecological urban area.

The secondary routes to the West and Southwest, along with the main North-South transportation axes of Ho Chi Minh City and the ring road, have not yet been fully connected or invested in.

Develop 5 satellite cities based on the TOD model.

Given the above situation, in the upcoming planning adjustment, instead of developing Ho Chi Minh City in two main directions and two secondary directions as before, the city aims for a balance across all four directions - East, South, Northwest, and Southwest.

In addition, five suburban districts (Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, and Can Gio) are slated for upgrading to urban districts or cities.

Ho Chi Minh City is a multi-centered urban area with a Transport-Oriented Development (TOD) orientation, gradually reducing pressure on the central area, aiming to form and develop "satellite" urban areas, linked to prominent urban functions within the overall Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding metropolitan area.

The five satellite urban areas include: Thu Duc City, a smart, innovative, and highly interactive urban area in the East; Can Gio, an ecological urban area and a gateway for international trade via sea; the Southern urban area with Phu My Hung as its center; the Southwestern urban area, a gateway connecting to the Mekong Delta; and the Northwestern urban area, a gateway connecting to Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, and Cambodia.

Ho Chi Minh City will develop Can Gio into an ecological urban area.

On August 26th, Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai took a helicopter survey to gather information for the development of Ho Chi Minh City's urban planning.

Speaking to the press after the survey trip, Mr. Phan Van Mai said that the allocation and use of land still have many shortcomings and inefficiencies, with many areas having a patchwork of land. This raises issues for future planning, requiring restructuring of production and residential areas to maximize the efficiency of land use.

The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee stated that urban development is linked to the TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) model. Following the issuance of Resolution 98 by the National Assembly, Ho Chi Minh City reviewed the spaces along the Ring Roads 2 and 3, Metro Lines 1 and 2, and expressways. Through this review, the city identified numerous areas suitable for developing the TOD model.

"These are the central cores of Ho Chi Minh City's future urban area. We see enormous potential to both develop land resources and restructure the city's multi-centered urban model," Mr. Mai said.

Communicated by An Huy Group

According to the Labor Newspaper