The Merger of Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, and Binh Duong — A Historic Turning Point

The newly unified Ho Chi Minh City — formed by the merger of Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria–Vung Tau, and Binh Duong — marks an unprecedented milestone in Vietnam’s urban development history, according to General Secretary To Lam.

“No other city in the region has a scale comparable to this new metropolis. Its vision must transcend local and regional scope, and extend to an international horizon,” General Secretary To Lam stated at a working session with Party Standing Committees of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria–Vung Tau on June 18.

Under the National Assembly’s resolution, the three localities will be merged with the administrative seat in Ho Chi Minh City, effective July 1. In terms of GDP and fiscal contribution, the new Ho Chi Minh City ranks first nationwide and is recognized as a critical growth pillar. Internationally, its economic scale is expected to surpass that of several Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Laos, and Cambodia.

The new city holds strategic advantages built upon the strengths of all three localities. Ho Chi Minh City leads as the economic locomotive, home to the International Financial Center initiative and a pilot zone for new institutional and fintech reforms. It ranks among the top five startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia and within the world’s top 110, second in the region for fintech and top 30 globally for blockchain — a foundation for becoming a digital financial hub.

Meanwhile, Binh Duong has emerged as a symbol of the 40-year Đổi Mới journey — transforming from an agricultural province into one of the nation’s top industrial-urban centers, with the highest per capita income and an urbanization rate of 87%. The province has attracted 4,500 FDI projects, with total registered capital nearing USD 45 billion.

Ba Ria–Vung Tau is rising as a national maritime economic hub, with the Cai Mep–Thi Vai Port among the world’s top 21 deep-water ports, delivering strong regional and international competitiveness. The locality is developing high-end tourism corridors in Ho Tram, Long Hai, and Vung Tau, while piloting special policies for Con Dao to become a world-class eco-heritage destination.

With these outstanding advantages, the General Secretary emphasized that the new Ho Chi Minh City must restructure its spatial development with a multi-core, integrated, hyper-connected vision beyond the limits of traditional urban models. “We must abandon the fragmented mindset of inner city versus periphery, city versus neighboring province. Instead, it must function as an integrated urban ecosystem with a multi-center structure, operating under economic logic and value-chain functions,” he stressed.

The new vision is to transform Ho Chi Minh City into a “Southeast Asian international megacity” — an intelligent, green, innovative urban model that embodies not only economic strength but also cultural richness, art, sports, entertainment, and a modern lifestyle.

The new city is set to become a regional hub for finance, commerce, logistics, high-tech, and marine tourism — built on digital transformation, green economy, sustainability, and a harmonious, civilized society. It aims to attract global talent, innovators, and entrepreneurs — a breeding ground for startups, breakthroughs, and new development paradigms.

General Secretary To Lam also noted that the new city must not only lead economically but exert global influence. By 2035–2045, it should be among Asia’s top high-income cities, rank in the world’s top 30 in finance and tech innovation, host headquarters and R&D centers of major corporations, and be listed among the world’s top 50 most livable smart cities.
However, the city must also confront major challenges: overloaded infrastructure, constrained land space, rapid population growth, pollution, flooding, congestion, and low performance in PCI, administrative reform, and citizen satisfaction.

For Binh Duong, the economy remains dependent on contract manufacturing, lacking human resource development and innovation centers. Ba Ria–Vung Tau suffers from weak regional linkages, fragmented logistics, and seasonal tourism.

From both opportunities and challenges, the General Secretary urged the new Ho Chi Minh City to selectively integrate effective policies from all three localities after the merger. Beyond economic growth, the city must ensure security, national defense, social order, and pursue not just prosperity in figures, but a just and fulfilling society for its people.

Sorce link: https://vnexpress.net/tong-bi-thu-hop-nhat-tp-hcm-voi-ba-ria-vung-tau-binh-duong-la-buoc-ngoat-lich-su-4903316.html