Historical value of formation and development
In 1698, Commander Nguyen Huu Canh (1650 - 1700) was sent to the South to inspect, marking the birth of Gia Dinh Palace (the predecessor of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City). At that time, this land was a dense forest and swamp area, but it was connected to many localities, had a canal system and fertile land. Under the Nguyen Lords, Saigon was developed and became an important trading center of the Southern region. Saigon gradually became a modern city with many Western-style architectural works.
Ho Chi Minh City - the beauty of a modern, dynamic, vibrant city in the new era_Photo: VNA
In 1975, after the country was reunified, to commemorate the merits of President Ho Chi Minh, on July 2, 1976, Saigon was honored to be named after President Ho Chi Minh. During the renovation period, the City was a pioneer in breakthrough initiatives, an economic locomotive; inspired many important economic policies and strategies of the country; was the locality most heavily and painfully affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but remained resilient, strong and continued to contribute a large budget to the country. In the period of 2021 - 2025, despite the difficult and challenging situation, thanks to the efforts of the political system along with the consensus and high support of the business community and the people, the City has achieved remarkable results in all areas. The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2025 is estimated to increase 1.5 times compared to 2020; GRDP per capita reached 8,400 USD, 1.7 times higher than the national average. State budget revenue in the 2021 - 2025 period reached nearly 2.4 million billion VND, an increase of 30% compared to the previous period, with an average revenue growth rate of 7%/year, contributing 26% of the total annual national budget revenue. The digital economy is growing strongly, accounting for 25% of GRDP...
Service industries are developing in a modern direction, the quality of trade and services is improving. Industry focuses on developing in the direction of prioritizing fields with science and technology content. Agriculture develops rapidly in the direction of urban ecology, applying high technology. Investment attraction is promoted in the direction of selecting large, potential and reputable investors; from 2020 to present, nearly 225,000 enterprises have been established, accounting for 30% of the country, an increase of 8.3% compared to the previous period. Breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure, digital transformation, science and technology development and human resources are focused on and have achieved many important results.
Transport and urban infrastructure is planned and invested in a multi-center, regionally connected and climate change-adaptive direction. The startup and innovation ecosystem is approaching the top 100 most dynamic cities in the world. The fields of culture - society, education, health care, community care, social security, etc. are focused on development in parallel with economic development. National defense and security are maintained; Party building and rectification are strengthened, which is a key and central task to ensure the stability and development of the City.
Continuing the results achieved in the period of 2021 - 2025, in the first 6 months of 2025 alone, the City has many bright spots in socio-economic development, notably: GRDP is estimated to increase by over 8% - the highest increase over the same period since 2020. Total retail sales of goods increased by 17.3%; exports are estimated to increase by 13.3%; total social investment capital is estimated to increase by 16.2% over the same period; attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) reached nearly 3 billion USD (equal to 2.69 times compared to the same period in 2024). Administrative procedure reform, improving the investment environment, and removing "bottlenecks" of the economy have achieved initial positive results; The city has removed 63 key projects, leading and clearing over 86,000 billion VND of investment capital, with an area of 923 hectares of land... contributing to an estimated budget revenue of 322 trillion VND, reaching more than 62% of the estimate, up 20.4% over the same period, thereby combating the waste of social resources, creating trust in the business community. Many large enterprises have returned to invest and develop in the city. The 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) and the Great Buddha's Birthday in 2025 were successfully organized, contributing to arousing patriotism and national pride, leaving many beautiful impressions, and enhancing Vietnam's position in the international arena.
The implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, dated December 22, 2024, of the Politburo, "On breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation" has achieved many positive results: The city is in the top 5 leading creative startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia (according to StarupBlink's ranking); has signed, cooperated and started many projects with large domestic and foreign technology enterprises (such as Viettel, NVIDIA, ADM, Evoluion). The contribution of total factor productivity (TFP) to GRDP has continuously increased, contributing to promoting FDI capital mobilization in professional and scientific and technological activities with a total capital of 1.2 billion USD in the second quarter of 2025. The city has coordinated with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces to connect digital infrastructure with hundreds of commune-level administrative units; Complete the deployment of shared information systems and digital platforms, ensuring official operation of digital platforms for two-level governments from July 1, 2025.
General Secretary To Lam visits and conducts a field survey at the Public Administration Service Center of Xuan Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City_Photo: VNA
Breakthrough development and strategic tasks, creating a foundation for growth
On June 12, 2025, Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15, "On the arrangement of provincial-level administrative units"; in which, Ho Chi Minh City (new) was established on the basis of merging three localities: Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province and Binh Duong province. The (new) city has a natural area of 6,772.59 km 2 , a population of 14,002,598 people; becoming the core area of the Southern Key Economic Zone. This is a strategic decision of our Party and State - marking a new chapter in the revolution of arranging and organizing the apparatus "streamlined - compact - strong - efficient - effective - efficient". This decision is not simply a "mathematical addition" of geographical space, but a synergy, creating new momentum and new space for development at a higher level and class with the vision of becoming one of the top 100 "livable" cities in the world by 2030 and a vision to 2045.
The new vision for Ho Chi Minh City (new) is to become an “international megacity” - a smart, green, creative city, typical not only of economic strength, but also of rich culture, art, sports, entertainment and modern, dynamic lifestyle. Ho Chi Minh City (new) will be a regional center of finance, services, trade, logistics, high-tech industry and sea tourism; with a development orientation based on digital technology, green economy, environmental sustainability, harmonious, connected, open society, crystallizing advanced values of Asia and the world; striving to be an attractive place, converging domestic and international talents and entrepreneurs, a place for the startup and creative community, nurturing advanced trends and models. Ho Chi Minh City (new) will not only be the national economic locomotive, but must be a modern city with influence in the global city network.
From the new space, in the 2025 - 2030 term, the entire City Party Committee will focus on implementing the following 5 strategic and key task groups:
One is, Focus on implementing a two-level local government system of "streamlining - compactness - strength - efficiency - effectiveness - efficiency". This is the general goal, aiming at building a local government apparatus, reducing intermediate levels, streamlining the payroll, enhancing capacity and ability to meet requirements and tasks in the new situation; in which: "Streamlining" is to reduce unnecessary agencies, units, organizations, overlapping functions, tasks, or no longer suitable to the practical situation; "Strong" is to enhance the capacity and qualifications of the staff, civil servants, and public employees; improve the operational efficiency of agencies and units; "Efficiency, effectiveness, efficiency" is to ensure that the apparatus operates with productivity and quality, meets the requirements and assigned tasks, and brings practical benefits to people and businesses; “Speed, determination, running and lining up at the same time” shows urgency and high determination in the implementation process, while ensuring correctness and science, avoiding disruption and negative impacts on the operation of the apparatus.
Second, concretize the implementation to achieve the highest results of the strategic resolutions of the Politburo of the "four pillars" including: Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, dated December 22, 2024, "On breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation"; Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW, dated January 24, 2025, on "International integration in the new situation"; Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW, dated April 30, 2025, "On innovation in law-making and enforcement to meet the requirements of national development in the new era"; Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, dated May 4, 2025, "On private economic development". Accordingly, the implementation of the "four pillars" of resolutions must ensure the requirements: clear targets, clear programs and plans, clear specific roadmaps, clear products, and clear responsibilities.
Third , urgently review, adjust and develop a new planning for Ho Chi Minh City, with a vision of "1 space - 3 areas", in which the existing Ho Chi Minh City area plays the role of "financial and high-tech capital", focusing on developing a financial, trade, service, technology and innovation center; Binh Duong area plays the role of "industrial capital", a center of production, high-tech industry; Ba Ria - Vung Tau area is the "marine economic capital", playing the role of an international seaport gateway, developing logistics services, and an energy industry center.
Fourth, continue to effectively implement the strategy of "1 center - 4 heights - 1 concentration", with: "1 center" being the formation of the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City; "4 heights" including including: (i) Multi-purpose high-tech center (innovation; AI; GIS; Semiconductor chips); (ii) High-tech industrial park; (iii) High-quality education; (iv) High-quality healthcare; "1 focus" is to focus on investing in synchronous and modern transport infrastructure and digital infrastructure, in the spirit of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo.
Five is, Focus on improving the effectiveness of administrative reform, improving the investment environment, and enhancing investment position, including: First , improving the effectiveness of administrative reform towards "4 key points" : digital government; results-based governance, decentralization, delegation of power; building a service-oriented administration; resolving administrative procedures in a transparent manner - in accordance with the law - on time; Second, enhancing investment position: With the goal that by 2030, the City will be in the top 3 of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and the top 1 locality attracting large investors.
To achieve this goal, the City focuses on cutting administrative procedures, especially in areas related to people and businesses (cutting cumbersome steps related to investment attraction; reducing the time for granting and exchanging land use right certificates; not requiring people to apply for construction permits in areas with detailed planning, etc.); creating the most attractive environment for large investors, with attractive incentive policies, modern infrastructure, high-quality human resources and a good living environment; improving the quality of economic management; investing in completing transport, energy and logistics infrastructure is very important to meet the needs of investors; training and developing high-quality human resources is a key factor in attracting high-tech enterprises and high value-added industries; building a good living environment (including housing, education, healthcare, and culture) is an important factor in attracting and retaining workers and experts.
Comrade Nguyen Van Duoc, member of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, led a working delegation to inspect the actual situation of preparation and official operation of the administrative apparatus of Di An ward - a newly established and merged ward-level administrative unit_Photo: VNA
For the goal of becoming a "livable" city
Ho Chi Minh City identifies the goals, directions, tasks, and solutions for the 2025 - 2030 term with a unified space of the most dynamic "three economic poles" in the country converging into a financial - high-tech industrial - marine economic megacity with the highest development density in Southeast Asia, with a vision of striving to be in the top 100 "livable" cities in the world by 2030 and a vision to 2045. In particular, focusing on forming 6 strategic focuses with the following key works and projects:
Firstly, forming a world-class sea tourism area (Ho Tram - Binh Chau - Long Hai - Vung Tau city); developing diverse and attractive forms of entertainment (such as golf, sea games, tourist ports, casinos, eco-resorts).
Second, forming a free trade zone associated with the Cai Mep - Can Gio transit port cluster.
Third, develop the Can Gio ecological - tourist - resort urban area associated with the Can Gio World Biosphere Reserve.
Fourth, build an international financial center and a multi-purpose high-tech center.
Fifth, develop the core urban area of Ho Chi Minh City.
Sixth, forming Binh Duong Industrial - Urban Center.
With favorable conditions in terms of young population, dynamic business class, many universities, research institutes and high integration capacity, the City needs to promote the construction of a science - technology ecosystem, innovation and development of a team of entrepreneurs in the private economic sector that is strong enough, dedicated and capable. Persistently pursuing the goal of comprehensive human development, closely combining economic growth with progress, social equity and quality of life. Not only an economic center, the City must become a "livable" place, where every citizen is guaranteed development opportunities, fully cared for in terms of health, education, living environment and safety. The new City will invest heavily in healthcare, education, public health care and physical and intellectual development for the younger generation. Comprehensive social security care, ensuring "no one is left behind" in the development process; Prioritize narrowing the development gap between localities, especially newly merged areas and areas with difficult socio-economic conditions.
The historical development process of more than 300 years, from a wild land to the most bustling urban area in Vietnam, is a long journey with many ups and downs but always associated with the heroic history of building and defending the country of the nation. Traditional values are the solid foundation for the Party Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (new) to continue to be the center of solidarity, inspiring service and dedication to creation, capable of leading a City that is not only a leader in the country, but also a breakthrough on the global urban map. This will be a unique mark in the new era of the City named after President Ho Chi Minh - the city of innovation, action and aspirations to reach far./.
Source: https://tapchicongsan.org.vn/web/guest/kinh-te/-/2018/1100202/thanh-pho-ho-chi-minh---thanh-pho-%E2%80%9Cdang-song%E2%80%9D%2C-vuon-minh-trong-ky-nguyen-phat-trien-moi.aspx
![[Photo] National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man visits Vietnamese Heroic Mother Ta Thi Tran](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/20/765c0bd057dd44ad83ab89fe0255b783)
Comment (0)