HCMC financial center must take shape in early 2025: Prime Minister

Ho Chi Minh City needs to take urgent steps to have its international financial center basically formed by the first quarter of 2025, says Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

He made the request at a meeting of the Coordinating Council for the Southeastern Region, themed "Southeast region's double-digit economic growth for 2025: Challenges, opportunities, and solutions”, held in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on Monday.

Earlier, Vietnam’s highest decision-making body, the Politburo, had greenlighted the establishment of an international financial center in HCMC and a regional financial center in the central city of Danang, marking a significant step towards realizing Vietnam's ambition to strengthen its position in global finance.

In its decision, the Politburo has emphasized a phased, strategic approach to developing the financial centers, with clearly defined geographical boundaries and target sectors.

It has advocated the piloting of a model that will combine special policies designed to foster competitiveness while ensuring adequate risk management and regulatory oversight.

At the meeting, the PM called for acceleration of key regional projects, notably the HCMC Ring Road 4. He directed the city’s authorities to allocate sub-projects to localities where the road passes through and have appropriate policies to facilitate the execution. All procedures for the project are set for completion by Q1/2025.

According to the HCMC administration, Ring Road 4 will have a total length of 159.31 kilometers, including 16.7 kilometers in HCMC, 18.23 km in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, 46.08 km in Dong Nai and 78.3 km in Long An province.

A 47.95-kilometer eight-lane section in Binh Duong province will be developed independently, based on an investment plan already approved by the provincial People’s Council.

Total investment for the first phase of the Ring Road 4 project is estimated at VND122.77 trillion ($4.83 billion). Of which, around VND53.11 trillion will be raised from private investors and loans, with the remainder funded by the state budget. The project will be implemented under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.

Construction on the sub-projects will begin in the third quarter of 2026, with a completion target of 2028. The section passing through HCMC will account for roughly 10% of the total length and 12% of the total investment.

Regarding the Can Gio International Transshipment Port project, Chinh instructed the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to finalize procedural steps by December 2024.

The $5.5 billion Can Gio port is set to be built at the mouth of the Cai Mep-Thi Vai river in Thanh An commune of Can Gio district, home to Vietnam’s first UNESCO-recognized world biosphere reserve - the Can Gio Mangrove Forest. Can Gio is the only coastal district in HCMC.

The "super" port is estimated to span 571 hectares, including 469.5 ha for piers, warehouses, internal roads, offices, housing for management staff, and technical infrastructure; and 101.5 ha of water serving the port’s operations.

He also underscored the urgency of completing an anti-flooding project in HCMC, requiring proposals to address remaining challenges by the end of 2024, with implementation slated for early 2025.

In terms of regional development, the government leader outlined a number of ambitious transportation and infrastructure projects, aiming to boost connectivity across the Southeastern Region.

He called for enhanced coordination in carrying out several key projects, including the one connecting the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC and the Long Thanh International Airport in nearby Dong Nai province.

Long Thanh airport, about 40 kilometers east of HCMC, is a mega project with a total investment of VND336.63 trillion ($14.12 billion) that will be built in three phases.

The first phase, scheduled for completion by the end of 2006, will feature the construction of two runways in the northern area and one passenger terminal, along with supporting infrastructure, to accommodate 25 million passengers per year and handle 1.2 million tons of cargo annually, according to a resolution freshly approved by the legislature.

Once completed, the 5,000-hectare airport will be the nation’s biggest, helping reduce overload at the HCMC-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The Prime Minister also set a deadline for completing necessary procedures for the construction of the Binh Phuoc-Dak Nong and HCMC-Moc Bai (Tay Ninh) expressways by the first quarter of 2025, with work to begin shortly thereafter.

He emphasized the need to study new rail links, such as the HCMC-Loc Ninh line and the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau route, to be connected to major industrial zones and ports, including Thi Vai-Cai Mep and Can Gio.

Another major initiative is the HCMC-My Thuan Expressway, which will be built under a public-private partnership model with a planned eight-lane design.