In just the first 8 months of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City started construction of 14 projects with a total investment of about 466,379 billion VND. The project portfolio extends from metro, ring roads, expressways to sea bridges, squares, parks and public spaces along rivers.
Notably, many projects that took decades to prepare are now being accelerated thanks to the city being more proactive in capital sources, authority and implementation methods.
In particular, the Urban Development Law is expected to continue to create more motivation for this process when it grants Ho Chi Minh City and localities the right to decide and approve investment policies for a number of projects in the area. The city also has more room to stipulate criteria, procedures for selecting investors and contractors and applying a simplified mechanism for urgent and strategic projects.
This is a necessary decentralization for a special urban area with a very large population, economy and investment needs. If all projects have to go through long procedures, the city will continue to be slow in development due to the delay in procedures.
However, the law only opens a corridor and provides more tools, and whether new mechanisms can be turned into a real "push" or not depends on the organizational capacity of local leaders.
In particular, shortening procedures does not mean simplifying requirements on planning, quality, environment, safety and investment efficiency. Especially when applying the designation of investors, contractors or implementing shortened procedures, selection criteria must be public, the implementation process must be supervised and the responsibilities of each individual and agency must be clearly defined.
Furthermore, the number of projects started or the total announced investment capital is just the beginning and does not say anything. Because what people are waiting for is whether the projects will be completed on schedule, operate effectively and solve specific urban problems or not.
A metro line only promotes value when conveniently connected to buses, parking lots, pedestrian paths and residential areas. A bridge or highway only truly opens up new development space when it goes hand in hand with land planning, housing, schools, hospitals and essential services.
If there is no synchronization, trillion-dong projects can still become disjointed links, even creating additional traffic, environmental and land price pressure on the surrounding area.
The biggest measure of the "push" of the Urban Development Law lies in the ability of localities to turn each project into a long-term development driving force, bringing about changes that can be felt in people's lives, not in the number of projects started.
