Panoramic view of the land where a 50,000-seat stadium will be built after more than 30 years of 'inactivity'

TPO - Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to start construction on the Rach Chiec Sports Complex project, including a 50,000-seat stadium with an integrated athletics track.

At the 5th session of the 10th term HCMC People's Council, Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc said that the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex project will start construction on December 19.

The Rach Chiec Sports Complex project was invested in 1994 with a total estimated capital of nearly 15,000 billion VND, but to date the project has been "inactive" for 3 decades.

Recently, Ho Chi Minh City has called for investment in component projects at the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex under the PPP (public-private partnership) form.

Notably, the project of a 50,000-seat stadium, integrated with an athletics track, has an investment capital of 7,000 billion VND. The project of a cycling racetrack, integrated with a motorcycle racing track and an outdoor soccer field has an investment of 4,000 billion VND. Other projects include: a football academy and a cluster of 6 outdoor soccer training fields (1,000 billion VND); and athletics competition fields (1,500 billion VND).

The sports area adjacent to Rach Chiec River has a convenient location, adjacent to the main roads at the eastern gateway of the city, Vo Nguyen Giap Avenue (old Hanoi Highway) and Mai Chi Tho, along with the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line.

Currently, most of the project area is mainly vacant land, ponds, overgrown grass, along with temporary houses of people in the project area.

Rach Chiec National Sports Complex was proposed for investment in 1994 with an initial planning area of ​​466 hectares and was expected to become an Olympic-standard sports center.

However, the area is now only 212 hectares after many adjustments and until now the project has not progressed, this area is still just empty lots mixed with swamps.

In 2017, Ho Chi Minh City restarted the project to prepare for the 31st SEA Games, but after the city withdrew from the hosting role, the project stalled again.

In December 2023, applying Resolution 98, Ho Chi Minh City included the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex in the list of cultural and sports projects invested in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), opening up opportunities to revive the project.

Currently, some investors are interested in implementing projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, in line with the orientation of attracting private capital. According to the PPP Law, to prepare a project proposal, the project must not overlap with a project that has an investment policy decision.

Suspending the investment policy using state budget capital not only ensures compliance with the law but also creates a legal basis for Ho Chi Minh City to call for investors, mobilize social resources, reduce budget pressure and promote the progress of the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex project.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/toan-canh-khu-dat-sap-xay-san-van-dong-50000-cho-sau-hon-30-nam-bat-dong-post1796425.tpo