The HCM City People’s Council on April 18 greenlit major infrastructure projects in the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area. — Photo www.sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — HCM lawmakers have approved plans for a VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.2 billion) Central Square and Administrative Centre in the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area, one of the city’s most ambitious urban projects in years.

The decision is a highlight of the ongoing session of the city People’s Council.

The project aims to modernise governance and create a large-scale public space, and is proposed under the Build-Transfer (BT) model.

Covering 46.72 hectares in An Khánh Ward, it is planned as a synchronised complex centred on a political-administrative centre for around 8,000 officials and civil servants.

The consolidation is intended to address long-standing misgivings over the fragmented and deteriorating government headquarters across the city.

The central square is designed to accommodate 268,000 people for political ceremonies and up to 500,000 for major cultural events.

It will include a 2,000-seat performing arts centre, a central lake park, the ‘Unification Monument’, and fountains and public grandstands.

Nguyễn Công Vinh, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the current administrative apparatus — serving nearly 14 million people — is spread across multiple locations, increasing costs and slowing digital transformation.

“The new centre will serve 1,500 to 2,000 citizens and businesses daily through a modern ‘one-door’ system, significantly reducing processing times.”

The project will be implemented through a public-private partnership using BT contracts, with the investor Saigon Sun Investment and Development Co., Ltd. (a member of Sun Group) mobilising all capital, 20 per cent in the form of equity and 80 per cent in loans.

Payment will be made through lands in Thủ Thiêm’s Subdivision No. 1 and in the form of funds by the city.

Construction is scheduled to start this year and take two years, and the project will be aligned with a 50-year development vision.

The Symphony, Music and Ballet Theatre will be relocated to a site adjacent to the administrative hub and shift from state funding to the BT model.

The project marks a major step in the city’s urban development.

Also at the People’s Council session, delegates elected Trương Trung Kiên, director of the city Department of Planning and Architecture, as a member of the People’s Committee.

Kiên, an urban planning expert, said he would prioritise key projects, including digitalization of planning data and developing regional connectivity infrastructure such as highways and urban railways linking HCM City with Đồng Nai, Tây Ninh and Lâm Đồng. — VNS