A view of Thủ Thiêm new urban area in the new Thủ Đức City. Nguyễn Văn Nên, secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, has said the city's newly adjusted master plan must give priority to residents’ interests. Photo vietnam-briefing.com

HCM CITY — The newly adjusted master plan for HCM City must ensure that its residents’ interests are a top priority, Nguyễn Văn Nên, secretary of HCM City Party Committee, has said.

Speaking at a meeting on Thursday, Nên said: “The adjustments to the master plan by 2040 must focus on people’s quality of life.

“A number of urban plans that have been approved but haven’t been implemented for many years due to lack of feasibility are seriously affecting the legitimate interests of the people.”

He added: “The city must think carefully about the feasibility of plans to ensure that they will not be postponed for so many years.”

For example, a number of urban planning projects have been delayed for 30 years or more, mostly because of a lack of city funds and site-clearance and compensation problems, requiring a large amount of money. 

The delays have seriously affected the interests of the people, according to Nên.

Trần Hoàng Quân, director of the Department of Construction, said the city should also increase residential land and reduce the amount of agricultural and illegal construction that often occurs. He said that agricultural land in HCM City still accounted for a large proportion (54.4 per cent) of total land, especially in Bình Chánh District (65 per cent).

Lê Hòa Bình, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, said that the adjusted master plan should be regularly reviewed to ensure its feasibility.

Financial hub in Asia Pacific

The city has set a goal by 2060 to become an international trade and financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to have an attractive working environment with diverse culture and heritage conservation and a scenic river system. Sustainable urban infrastructure and climate-change adaptation are among the goals set by 2060.

According to the revised master plan submitted to the city government by the Department of Planning and Architecture, one of the city’s new urban areas includes the new Thủ Đức City, formed recently by merging districts 2, 9 and Thủ Đức District.

The new Thủ Đức City will accommodate 1.9 million people. The new city will have 18,930ha of land for urban construction by 2030, and 19,994ha by 2040.

It currently has a population of more than 1 million. The figure is expected to reach 1.5 million by 2030, and 1.9 to 2.2 million people by 2040 and 3 million by 2060. 

Under the plan, the new city will implement major projects to create an innovative ecosystem.

These include projects to build the Quang Trung Thủ Đức Software Park, the Advanced Technology and Innovation Centre (under the Department of Science and Technology), a High-Performance Computing Centre, a Creative Start-up Centre, an Advanced Research Institute (under the National University of HCM City), and a Centre for Research and Pharmaceutical Production Products, among others.

The new city will also focus on developing quality human resources. HCM City will offer special incentives to attract investment in these projects. 

As the city’s eastern gateway, the new Thủ Đức City covering 21,156ha will be developed into a centre of innovation to assist the growth of HCM City and seven key economic hubs in the South.

Speaking at the meeting, Nguyễn Thanh Nhã, director of the city Department of Planning and Architecture, said the adjusted city master plan by 2040 covers ​​2,095sq.km and 28.7sq.km of Cần Giờ urban encroachment area. 

Under the adjusted plan, the city will be developed into the nation’s largest economic hub for tourism, industrial services and high-tech agriculture, and will adapt to climate change and rising sea levels.

The city is expected to have 13-14 million people by 2040 and 16 million by 2060. It plans to allocate 100,000-110,000ha of land for urbanisation by 2040. — VNS