HCM City’s dynamic, modern urban landscape stretches along the Sài Gòn River. VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Determined to fully leverage its role as the nation’s economic locomotive, HCM City is setting its sights on becoming an internationally competitive hub for science, technology and innovation and a powerful driver of development for the entire country.

Presenting his policy paper on the third working day of the 14th National Party Congress on Wednesday, Nguyễn Văn Được, Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, stressed that the city’s future growth pathway must be anchored in science and technology, innovation, the circular economy and green development.

This approach, he said, is essential to gradually building sustainable competitiveness and elevating the city into a regional economic and innovation centre with strong spillover effects.

For decades, HCM City has served as one of the country’s most important engines of growth, innovation and international integration. That success, however, now brings greater expectations in the current phase of development, particularly as domestic and global conditions undergo rapid and profound change.

Highlighting the city’s aspirations towards 2030, Được made clear that the goal is not merely fast growth. HCM City must distinguish itself by moving ahead and opening new paths, creating momentum that spreads across the entire country. It should become a testing ground for new mechanisms and policies, a magnet for science, technology and innovation and a model of urban governance suited to a new development era.

To turn this vision into reality, he said, the city must focus on three decisive pillars of development, with institutional breakthroughs identified as the foremost prerequisite.

In this regard, the recent passage by the National Assembly of Resolution No.260/2025/QH15 has created important new momentum for HCM City’s development. According to Được, the city needs greater authority to pilot new governance models, streamline administrative procedures and expand policy space to foster innovation and enable the healthy growth of the private sector.

Nguyễn Văn Được, Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee. VNA/VNS Photo

He also warned that continued reliance on capital accumulation, land expansion and low-cost labour would soon push HCM City up against a growth ceiling. A truly sustainable development trajectory, he stressed, can only be built on knowledge, technology and people.

The city enjoys rare and significant advantages: the country’s largest network of universities and research institutes; a dynamic and adaptable business community; and a young workforce that is creative, quick to absorb new ideas and rich in aspiration.

The core challenge, he noted, lies not merely in the availability of resources but in the capacity to organise, connect and effectively mobilise them.

For HCM City, urban infrastructure must be seen as strategic national infrastructure, encompassing transport and logistics systems, digital infrastructure, regional connectivity and facilities that support the knowledge-based economy.

On that foundation, the city needs to reposition its geo-economic role around three strategic pillars: high-quality services, finance and trade; high-tech industry; and logistics closely integrated with regional and global value chains.

Được further emphasised that HCM City cannot and should not develop in isolation. Instead, it should serve as the central hub for coordinating and leading regional linkages; a focal point for finance, technology and high-end services; a node where production, logistics and high-tech agriculture are interconnected and generate spillover effects; and a place where value creation is distributed in a balanced manner, enabling shared and inclusive development.

The city is striving towards a model of a livable global city. A truly livable city, he said, should not be measured solely by economic scale but by quality of life, social cohesion and public trust. In this context, retaining talent, nurturing creativity and strengthening social trust form the bedrock of soft power and sustainable development.

“With strong political resolve and a deep aspiration to contribute, HCM City is committed to working alongside the entire country to realise the goal of building a developed, self-reliant, prosperous, civilised and happy Việt Nam, a country deeply integrated into the world, with an ever-growing position and reputation in the international community,” Được affirmed. — VNS