HO CHI MINH CITY – Vietnam's southern economic powerhouse, Ho Chi Minh City, is accelerating a series of ambitious urban and economic initiatives, including major canal-side redevelopment projects and a sweeping reform of its land pricing system. In parallel, authorities are pushing to expedite the construction of the landmark Long Thanh International Airport, setting a new target for its initial commercial operations to begin by June 2026.
These strategic efforts underscore a determined push to modernize the city's infrastructure, improve living standards, and bolster its position as a regional hub for commerce and transport.
Transforming the Urban Landscape
A key focus of the city's agenda is the comprehensive redevelopment of its extensive network of canals and waterways. Authorities are fast-tracking projects aimed at cleaning up polluted channels, relocating thousands of makeshift homes and slums along the banks, and transforming these areas into public parks, green corridors, and modern residential zones.
This urban "canal facelift" is designed to tackle long-standing issues of environmental degradation and inadequate housing while unlocking significant real estate potential. The initiative is a critical component of the city's master plan to enhance urban aesthetics and improve the quality of life for its nearly 10 million residents.
In a related and highly significant move, the city is also preparing to implement three new, distinct land price frameworks. This new system is intended to create a more transparent and market-oriented mechanism for calculating land values across different areas and for different purposes, including compensation for residents displaced by public projects like the canal redevelopment. The goal is to streamline site clearance, a process that has historically caused major delays for infrastructure projects, and to ensure fairer compensation for affected households.
Long Thanh Airport on an Accelerated Timeline
Meanwhile, just outside the city, efforts are being intensified at the Long Thanh International Airport megaproject. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and government bodies are reportedly taking aggressive measures to speed up construction of the first phase.
The new target aims for the airport to handle its first commercial flights by June 2026. This represents an acceleration of the previous timeline and reflects immense pressure to alleviate the chronic overcrowding at the current Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
When operational, Long Thanh's first phase is designed to have a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo per year. It is envisioned as a state-of-the-art aviation hub for Southeast Asia, and its timely completion is considered a matter of national strategic importance for Vietnam's economic growth, trade, and tourism sectors.
Together, these initiatives—from the grassroots-level canal clean-up to the national-scale airport construction—signal a period of intense and transformative development for Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding southern economic region.
