Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is seeking to attract more private investment to develop its transport, logistics and technical infrastructure, as public funding alone cannot meet growing investment needs.
The municipal People’s Committee is collecting feedback on a draft resolution proposing incentives and mechanisms to mobilise resources for the construction, development and maintenance of infrastructure. The move aims to implement Article 14 of the Urban Development Law No. 18/2026/QH16.
Under a special mechanism approved by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15, the city has called for public-private partnership (PPP) investment in four gateway road projects, covering the upgrading and expansion of National Highways 1, 13 and 22, and the north-south trunk road. Several investors have registered interest, with total proposed investment of around 60 trillion VND (2.32 billion USD).
Le Quoc Binh, General Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII), said a consortium comprising CII Investment and Services One Member Co., Ltd. and IMIC Infrastructure Construction JSC had registered to invest in the National Highway 13 expansion project. Public investment will cover compensation, while the investor will finance construction.
The city is also developing urban railways, ring roads, expressways, port-airport links, public transport and logistics infrastructure. To attract investment in urban railways, the draft proposes allowing investors to put forward the boundaries, locations and scale of transit-oriented development (TOD) areas during the planning process, subject to technical, safety and connectivity requirements.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnamese-German Transport Research Centre at Vietnamese-German University, said TOD’s key benefit is capturing the increase in land value generated by infrastructure investment. Under the new urban development framework, the city can retain all revenue from exploiting land funds in TOD areas to reinvest in railways and connecting infrastructure.
Public funding for land clearance, compensation and resettlement can also serve as seed capital to attract investors.
Underground infrastructure offers new opportunities
Bui Xuan Nguyen, Deputy Director of the Investment Preparation Board under the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways, said underground space is part of the broader TOD model, alongside surface and potentially elevated development. Three potential hubs linking urban railways with underground facilities are Ben Thanh, Tan Son Nhat and Thu Thiem.
The draft also proposes supporting parking infrastructure investors by covering 50% of interest payable on loans from the Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment State-owned Company (HFIC), for up to five years, subject to specified conditions.
A “green lane” and one-stop mechanism would streamline procedures for priority strategic investment and logistics infrastructure projects, using a shared electronic dossier and parallel processing of administrative steps.
The city’s Finance Department said better tax, customs and infrastructure policies could lower logistics costs and improve competitiveness. The logistics sector grows by an average of 14–16% annually and contributes 4.5–5% of GDP.
TOD development could also increase property values and land-related public revenue, while prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. More public spaces, parks and plazas, alongside reduced reliance on private vehicles, could help cut urban air and noise pollution./.
