Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area

Construction and infrastructure projects in the provinces of Greater Ho Chi Minh City.

Author

James Clark
July 29, 2020

“Greetings from Saigon” was not the opening I was expecting to use this week. I was meant to be in Phan Thiet on the South Central coast of Vietnam, but I cancelled my trip yesterday. After 99 days of no local transmissions of the virus, there is a new outbreak in Da Nang. As a result, Da Nang has shut down transport in and out of the city, and anyone in Saigon who was in Da Nang this month has to get tested.

Authorities have also closed off streets where positive cases are reported. These lockdowns are swift, so I didn’t fancy being stranded in another city in case there is a new outbreak here. I’m glad, though, that I am somewhere that is taking this seriously.

My trip to Phan Thiet was going to take in three coastal cities that I wanted to investigate. With no travel again for who knows when, this is a good chance to get through some Ho Chi Minh City reports that are in the draft file.

This week’s article is about the Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area, which is made up of HCMC and seven surrounding provinces. This is similar to the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, which is made up of Bangkok and five provinces. In many parts of HCMC and Bangkok, the city and provinces have become indistinguishable. Both metropolitan areas have about the same population, and I will do a Bangkok Metropolitan article in the future. Metro Manila is also on my list, but I will need to spend some time there before embarking on that report.

The area of Greater Ho Chi Minh City includes Mekong farmland, special economic zones next to the Cambodian border, casinos at coastal resorts, riverfront new urban areas, manufacturers relocating from China, and potentially the largest airport in Southeast Asia.

Latest posts

Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area construction and infrastructure projects. List of major projects of the provinces surrounding Ho Chi Minh City.

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Asia

Cambodia

“Doubts grow over whether fragile middle class can support rapid boom in retail space.”

China

“Beijing has much to lose should it continue down the path of imperial overstretch.”

Hong Kong

Just as financial institutions in London have been lured to move to Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, now Mumbai, Taipei, Tokyo, Sydney, and Singapore are looking to entice businesses from Hong Kong.

India

“The iPhone 11 reportedly is being assembled in Chennai.”

Indonesia

“As Covid-19 continues to rage through Indonesia, how will the faltering economy and the reallocation of funds towards virus relief impact the country's grand $33 billion plan to relocate its capital to East Kalimantan?”

Japan

“Young heirs are abandoning the family homes of their forebears.”

Laos

Myanmar

Philippines

Thailand

This is a story playing out in every beach destination in Southeast Asia, not just Thailand.

I’m a bit envious that Bangkok now has two Apple stores while we wait the for news of the first one in Saigon. I remarked in a Bangkok vs Ho Chi Minh City comparison article how Ho Chi Minh City is 10 to 20 years behind Bangkok in terms of development and international brand representation.

Vietnam

“The 135-year-old Bui Chu Cathedral will be replaced with a replica that can hold more people. The church rejected an offer of land and help renovating the old building.”

I posted this story last week, but it has since made the NY Times so it’s worth noting again.

“A man who single-handedly exposed corruption against all odds with no support from family or friends was thanked officially with a thankless gesture.”

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