TOD Urban Development: What Level Is Appropriate?

With high-speed railway projects on the North-South axis, urban railway (metro) as well as the orientation of developing riverside areas, Dong Nai has a lot of potential to develop the TOD Urban model (with the public transport system as the center).

To develop effectively, TOD urban areas need to have a population density large enough to provide passengers for the public transport system. Photo: P.Tung

Great potential

In August 2025, the Provincial People's Committee approved the joint venture of DonaCoop Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company and VinaCapital Group as the investor to propose the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to Tran Bien ward and Long Thanh International Airport (airport) under the form of public-private partnership (PPP). Currently, the joint venture investor is coordinating with the relevant authorities to complete the project documents. With this project, the research scale has a total route length of about 38.5km, mainly passing through the province.

On October 21, 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also reported to the Government on the investment plan to build the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway to serve the connection between Long Thanh Airport and Tan Son Nhat Airport.

The Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Railway is being studied for implementation as an urban railway, approximately 42km long, of which more than 30km through Dong Nai province is designed as a double track, 1,435mm gauge, designed speed of 120km/h with 20 stations, transporting passengers in and out of Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai province to Long Thanh Airport. The project has a total investment of nearly 3.4 billion USD. Currently, the Ministry of Construction is coordinating with relevant agencies to complete the procedures to assign the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as the managing agency of the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Railway Project.

Meanwhile, the high-speed railway on the North-South axis is also undergoing investment procedures. According to the plan, this route will pass through the province for nearly 82km, with a passenger terminal in the Long Thanh Airport area and a cargo terminal in Trang Bom commune.

According to Provincial Party Committee member and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Van Ha, with high-speed railway and metro projects being invested in, Dong Nai has great potential in urban development according to the TOD model.

Not only that, according to the assessment, with the orientation of economic development in riverside areas, especially Dong Nai River, Dong Nai province also has more potential to develop the TOD Urban model.

According to Dr. of Science - Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son, Chairman of NgoViet Architects & Planners, in the new context, economic development along the Dong Nai River needs to be closely linked with urban development according to the TOD model.

How much TOD is reasonable?

In early September 2025, at a working session with the Provincial People's Committee to report on the progress of the investment preparation documents for the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Line Extension Project to Tran Bien Ward, Long Thanh Airport, the investor consortium proposed 7 areas along the metro line to develop the TOD Urban model with a total area of ​​more than 880 hectares.

Meanwhile, for the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project, Dong Nai province is proposing that the Ministry of Construction add an additional passenger station in Xuan Hoa commune.

According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Van Ha, the North-South high-speed railway project passing through the area not only solves the transportation problem but also opens up opportunities for Dong Nai to develop urban areas according to the TOD model. The eastern area of ​​Dong Nai province, especially the communes of Xuan Loc, Xuan Phu, Xuan Hoa, has not yet been arranged with a passenger station in the project planning. Meanwhile, this area has many development advantages with large land fund, favorable terrain, high-tech infrastructure connectivity, so it is suitable to arrange a large-scale North-South high-speed railway passenger station to effectively exploit the TOD urban model in the area.

In fact, with the transportation projects being implemented and the potential of land fund, Dong Nai has many advantages to develop the TOD Urban model. However, the level of development is a problem that needs to be carefully calculated.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Quang Phu, Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, TOD is a model of urban development oriented towards public transport development. Therefore, there must be a combination between this urban area and the public transport system, the urban area must have a high population density to provide passengers for public transport, and at the same time relieve urban compression. A metro line needs 4-8 thousand passengers/hour, so the TOD urban area must have a large enough population density to provide passengers.

“According to my calculations, on average, a ward in Ho Chi Minh City has a population density of 4-5 thousand people/km2. With a traffic volume and travel coefficient of about 50% of people using public transport, there are about 2-3 thousand people using the metro to travel in a day. Meanwhile, a metro line can accommodate 15-20 thousand passengers. In Dong Nai province, Trang Dai ward is currently one of the wards with a high population density of about 8 thousand people/km2. Therefore, developing many TODs is not necessarily effective soon” - Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Phu shared.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Quang Phu, TOD urban areas require high population density, along with jobs, shopping centers and other amenities. At the same time, people need to use public transportation when traveling. If people only use personal vehicles to travel, the TOD model will not be effective.

Pham Tung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202510/phat-trien-do-thi-tod-muc-do-nao-la-hop-ly-7841ef4/