On the afternoon of September 18, at a press conference on socio-economic issues, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance said that the Phan Dinh Phung Stadium project is being prepared for investment in the form of public investment.
Relevant departments and branches are assigned to prepare a pre-feasibility study report, propose investment policies and collect opinions from relevant units.
However, the implementation process encountered problems when the planning and architectural indicators of the project were not in accordance with the approved zoning plan.
Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has directed departments and branches to coordinate in advising on local adjustments to the 1/2000 scale zoning plan at the project implementation site.
Currently, the Department of Culture and Sports is working with the Department of Construction and the People's Committee of Xuan Hoa Ward to review and agree on the scale of the project and architectural indicators, to propose a plan to adjust the planning according to regulations.
After the plan is approved, the Department of Culture and Sports will complete the dossier, submit it for appraisal and report to the competent authority to decide on the investment policy.
According to the plan, from now until April 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will complete the planning adjustment. In May 2026, the project will be appraised and the investment policy will be decided.
In the third quarter of 2027, the project will officially start construction and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2029.
The Phan Dinh Phung Stadium project was once expected to be the most modern project in the city, serving international sporting events, including the 2012 ASIAD.
In April 2010, the Prime Minister approved Ho Chi Minh City to implement the project under the form of a BT (build - transfer) contract and sell the designated land at 257 Tran Hung Dao (old District 1) to create capital.
However, after many changes due to investors not meeting their capacity, it was not until January 2018 that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved the joint venture of Compensation and Clearance Joint Stock Corporation - Phat Dat Real Estate Development Joint Stock Company as the investor.
In June 2018, the Department of Culture and Sports signed an investment agreement with this consortium, but the project could not be implemented.
The total investment of the project has doubled, from the initial VND 988 billion to more than VND 2,215 billion.
By the end of 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued Decision No. 6060/QD-UBND, officially canceling the feasibility study report approved in 2016, terminating the project investment under the BT form.
The city assigned the Department of Culture and Sports to negotiate the termination of cooperation with investors, and at the same time review and refund reasonable costs that businesses have spent during the project preparation stage.
