Looking back at Ho Chi Minh City's resilience in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic

(Dan Tri) - In the context of a volatile world and localities heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City still affirms its resilience, solidarity, creativity and aspiration to rise up in the 2020-2025 term.

On the morning of October 13, the 1st Congress of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, term 2025-2030, held a preparatory session. This Congress has a historic significance with the task of reviewing and evaluating the past term of Ho Chi Minh City, opening a new development stage of the country's leading urban area after rearranging the organizational apparatus, merging administrative units and organizing a two-level local government model.

In the draft Political Report of the 1st Congress of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, term 2025-2030, overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic, gradually recovering and developing is the first achievement mentioned by the City Party Committee. The pandemic has caused heavy losses, along with fluctuations in resources, development space and staff.

The Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress was held at the City Academy of Officials (Photo: Bao Quyen).

However, with its tradition of solidarity, dynamism and creativity, the city has strived to overcome all difficulties, maintaining its leading role in the country's economy , culture, science and technology, while creating a solid foundation for a new stage of development.

The resilience of the metropolis

Immediately after implementing many strong solutions, mobilizing all material and spiritual strength to repel the Covid-19 pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau have focused on restoring production. The economy from a serious decline has quickly recovered, regained growth momentum and gradually developed stably on the basis of renewing the growth model, restructuring, applying science and technology and innovation.

In particular, Binh Duong continues to affirm itself as a major industrial production center, focusing on developing and strongly transforming industrial zones, attracting investment and implementing high-tech industrial projects, associated with urban development. Ba Ria - Vung Tau province develops rapidly and stably on the foundation of industry, logistics - seaports, tourism and high-tech agriculture, forming and developing new key industries in petrochemicals, renewable energy, liquefied petroleum center and bio-industry.

Before the merger, Ho Chi Minh City continued to maintain its leading role as a special urban area, being the leading center of economics, culture, finance, trade, services, science and technology, innovation and human resource development in the country.

The localities before the merger have completed most of the socio-economic targets for the 2020-2025 term. The total GRDP value of Ho Chi Minh City in 2025 is estimated at more than 3 million billion VND, an increase of more than 1.5 times compared to 2020, accounting for 23.5% of the country's GDP. GRDP per capita is 1.7 times higher than the whole country. State budget revenue reached 737,000 billion VND, accounting for 36.7% of the total national budget revenue.

Growth rate chart of old Ho Chi Minh City in the period 2019-2025.

Before the merger of the three provinces and cities, the old Ho Chi Minh City had a growth rate of 7.82% in the first 6 months of 2025; Binh Duong had a growth rate of 8.3% and Ba Ria - Vung Tau had a growth rate of 2.61%. In total, the new Ho Chi Minh City had a growth rate of 6.56% (including crude oil) and 7.49% (excluding crude oil).

Looking back at the 2020-2025 term, Ho Chi Minh City deeply recognizes the importance of developing culture and society in sync with economic development, improving people's material and spiritual life. Policies and programs for cultural and social development focus on key goals; improving the effectiveness of protecting and caring for people's health, stature, longevity, and quality of life; focusing on sustainable social development, ensuring progress, social justice, social security, and human security.

Ho Chi Minh City achieved many important results in infrastructure development in the 2020-2025 term (Photo: Nam Anh).

Ho Chi Minh City has also achieved many important results in infrastructure development, creating a solid foundation for the next breakthrough phase. The city has focused on mobilizing and effectively using public investment resources, promoting capital disbursement, prioritizing key projects with high spillover effects, contributing to removing long-standing development bottlenecks.

Over the past 5 years, many strategic infrastructure projects in the area have been started, completed or moved to the acceleration phase. Typical projects are Ring Road 3, Ring Road 2, Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai Expressway, and urban railway lines (Metro No. 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien, Metro No. 2 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong). These projects not only improve inner-city connectivity but also expand connectivity in the Southeast region, creating conditions for the city to develop in a multi-center direction.

Removing institutional bottlenecks

During the last term, institutional reform was identified as one of the three strategic breakthroughs of Ho Chi Minh City, associated with the requirement to promote the role of a locomotive and driving force for the development of the whole region and the whole country. From awareness to action, the city has been proactive and creative in piloting, proposing and implementing specific mechanisms and policies, gradually removing institutional "bottlenecks" that have hindered the development of the largest urban area in the country.

In the 2020-2025 term, along with focusing on completing the planning, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and the old Ba Ria - Vung Tau have resolutely directed the removal of many bottlenecks in mechanisms, procedures, and land. The highlight is that the Central Government and the National Assembly have issued important Resolutions related to the development of Ho Chi Minh City, especially Resolution 98 on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies, Resolution 188 on specific mechanisms and policies for the development of the urban railway network system.

Ho Chi Minh City streets are decorated before the 1st City Party Congress (Photo: Bao Quyen).

Ho Chi Minh City is also a pioneer in implementing the urban government model. With the new model, the city's administrative apparatus is consolidated and improved in a streamlined, professional and modern direction.

The activities of the People's Councils at all levels in the locality have seen remarkable changes in both the quantity and quality of work. Especially in deciding major policies and guidelines, innovating supervision work, expanding democracy, and contacting and resolving voters' petitions.

People's Committees at all levels and administrative agencies have gradually innovated their style and manners, become more proactive, creative, and flexible in their leadership and management; promoted decentralization and delegation of authority, and improved the efficiency of public services. Judicial activities and law protection have been innovated in the spirit of judicial reform, and the quality of litigation activities has been constantly improved, ensuring the right people are prosecuted, investigated, prosecuted, and tried for the right crimes, without letting criminals escape, and without wrongful convictions.

Administrative reform and digital transformation in the public sector continue to be promoted, aiming to serve people and businesses better and more transparently.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang and delegates experience Metro Line 1 before the Congress (Photo: Bao Quyen).

In particular, the policy of reorganizing administrative units and building a 2-level local government organization model has been thoroughly grasped and implemented urgently, seriously and resolutely by Ho Chi Minh City. Up to now, the new model has gradually promoted its effectiveness, implemented decentralization, delegation of authority, and reasonable division of authority; promoted people's participation; strengthened accountability; promoted digital transformation, simplified administrative procedures, improved the quality of public services, created momentum for economic development and ensured political and social stability.

Ho Chi Minh City also proposed to the Central Government to implement the Project on developing an international financial center, an urban railway system, Can Gio International Transit Port, and a free trade zone (FTZ) associated with a seaport in Cai Mep Ha area. The city continues to be a place to pilot new mechanisms and policies before expanding nationwide.

Ho Chi Minh City International Financial Center is expected to be built in Thu Thiem (Photo: Nam Anh).

At the same time, science, technology and innovation activities are increasingly going into depth. Ho Chi Minh City is in the top 5 leading startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia, ranked 2nd in the region in Fintech and ranked 110th globally in innovation. The digital ecosystem and high-tech enterprises are making an important contribution to transforming the growth model, towards a knowledge-based economy and a circular economy.

The past five years have been a difficult, yet proud journey for Ho Chi Minh City. In the context of an unpredictable world and a locality heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the city has still affirmed its resilience, creative spirit and aspiration to rise up.

The results achieved not only demonstrate the strength of will and solidarity, but also lay a solid foundation for Ho Chi Minh City to continue to break through, realizing the goal of becoming a regional financial, scientific - technological and innovation center, worthy of being the locomotive of development of the whole country.

The 1st Congress of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, term 2025-2030, took place from October 13 to October 15. The preparatory session of the Congress took place on October 13, the official opening session on the morning of October 14 and the closing session on October 15.

At this Congress, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Executive Committee allocated delegates from ward, commune, special zone Party Committees and directly superior grassroots Party Committees to attend the 1st Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress based on the number of Party members and the characteristics and situation of the Party Committee; 550 delegates were summoned, including 110 ex-officio delegates and 440 appointed delegates, divided into 12 groups.

Photo: Bao Quyen, Phuoc Tuan, Nam Anh

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/nhin-lai-giai-doan-kien-cuong-cua-tphcm-vuot-qua-dai-dich-covid-19-20251012143333539.htm