The Northwest Cu Chi Industrial Park will create many jobs for local people. (Photo: SGGP)
More than ten years of hiatus
Chau Nguyen has more than 2 hectares of land in Tan Thong Hoi Commune in Cu Chi District in the planning of the Northwest Urban Area. Because of the planning, for nearly ten years, he could only grow orchids and raise fish. This job is not suitable for him, so the profit is not high. Meanwhile, if he sells his land, the land price is not high because it is in the planning of the Northwest Urban Area.
Chau Nguyen is one of the thousands of households that have been entangled in the pending planning of the Northwest Urban Area, which has lasted for more than a decade. According to Decision No.24/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2010, of the Prime Minister approving the general planning of HCMC, the Northwest Urban Area will be a secondary direction, including five communes and a town, with an area of 6,000 hectares. According to initial statistics, the entire planned area had about 6,000 households that must be cleared completely. By 2016, city leaders adjusted the planning in the direction of stabilizing the existing residential areas.
In April this year, reporting to the People's Committee of HCMC, Mr. Phan Ngoc Phuc, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Architecture, said that 11 projects of the 1/2000-scale zoning plan were approved, but no investors were available. After that, following the direction of the City Party Committee and the municipal People's Committee on reviewing the unfeasible planning, the Department of Planning and Architecture reviewed and reported to the city. The adjustment of the planning was approved by the municipal People's Committee to adjust the task of the 1/5000-scale zoning plan in February 2020. At present, the adjustment project is in the process of preparation and appraisal. The department has been coordinating with the Northwest Urban Area Management Board, the People's Committee of Cu Chi District, and relevant units to remove difficulties and obstacles to complete quickly the project planning to submit to the People's Committee of HCMC for consideration.
From the investment perspective, the Northwest Urban Area used to attract many investors. Fourteen years ago, the appearance of Malaysian Berjaya Group, with a popular investment combo in HCMC, impressed domestic investors. The group introduced projects to build a Financial Center in District 10 and a 900-ha University Town in Hoc Mon District, with a total investment of US$3.5 billion. Besides, this place also received the attention of large domestic and foreign corporations. Unfortunately, the global economic crisis occurred in 2008, due to difficulties, all investors withdrew.
Recently, a comprehensive review and evaluation report of more than ten years of implementing the general planning of HCMC by the Institute of Planning and Construction of HCMC shows that the funding for the construction of the Northwest Urban Area has been extremely slow; the infrastructure system has not been developed synchronously; traffic connection with the city center relies only on the National Highway 22, so it is difficult to call for investment. The Northern center of the Northwest Urban Area (about 500ha) and the sub-center in Hoc Mon District (50ha) are mostly located in the existing residential area and have not had any investors. The completed urban and residential area planning projects are extremely sluggish or have not been implemented, such as Tan Thoi Nhi Urban Residential Area, Tan Hiep Urban Residential Area, University Town, and Saigon Safari Park.
Generally, the process of urbanization here is taking place as an oil spill. Residential areas were formed fragmentally and uncontrollably and lacked infrastructures.
Chau Nguyen has more than 2 hectares of land in Tan Thong Hoi Commune in Cu Chi District in the planning of the Northwest Urban Area. Because of the planning, for nearly ten years, he could only grow orchids and raise fish. This job is not suitable for him, so the profit is not high. Meanwhile, if he sells his land, the land price is not high because it is in the planning of the Northwest Urban Area.
Chau Nguyen is one of the thousands of households that have been entangled in the pending planning of the Northwest Urban Area, which has lasted for more than a decade. According to Decision No.24/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2010, of the Prime Minister approving the general planning of HCMC, the Northwest Urban Area will be a secondary direction, including five communes and a town, with an area of 6,000 hectares. According to initial statistics, the entire planned area had about 6,000 households that must be cleared completely. By 2016, city leaders adjusted the planning in the direction of stabilizing the existing residential areas.
In April this year, reporting to the People's Committee of HCMC, Mr. Phan Ngoc Phuc, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Architecture, said that 11 projects of the 1/2000-scale zoning plan were approved, but no investors were available. After that, following the direction of the City Party Committee and the municipal People's Committee on reviewing the unfeasible planning, the Department of Planning and Architecture reviewed and reported to the city. The adjustment of the planning was approved by the municipal People's Committee to adjust the task of the 1/5000-scale zoning plan in February 2020. At present, the adjustment project is in the process of preparation and appraisal. The department has been coordinating with the Northwest Urban Area Management Board, the People's Committee of Cu Chi District, and relevant units to remove difficulties and obstacles to complete quickly the project planning to submit to the People's Committee of HCMC for consideration.
From the investment perspective, the Northwest Urban Area used to attract many investors. Fourteen years ago, the appearance of Malaysian Berjaya Group, with a popular investment combo in HCMC, impressed domestic investors. The group introduced projects to build a Financial Center in District 10 and a 900-ha University Town in Hoc Mon District, with a total investment of US$3.5 billion. Besides, this place also received the attention of large domestic and foreign corporations. Unfortunately, the global economic crisis occurred in 2008, due to difficulties, all investors withdrew.
Recently, a comprehensive review and evaluation report of more than ten years of implementing the general planning of HCMC by the Institute of Planning and Construction of HCMC shows that the funding for the construction of the Northwest Urban Area has been extremely slow; the infrastructure system has not been developed synchronously; traffic connection with the city center relies only on the National Highway 22, so it is difficult to call for investment. The Northern center of the Northwest Urban Area (about 500ha) and the sub-center in Hoc Mon District (50ha) are mostly located in the existing residential area and have not had any investors. The completed urban and residential area planning projects are extremely sluggish or have not been implemented, such as Tan Thoi Nhi Urban Residential Area, Tan Hiep Urban Residential Area, University Town, and Saigon Safari Park.
Generally, the process of urbanization here is taking place as an oil spill. Residential areas were formed fragmentally and uncontrollably and lacked infrastructures.
The Northwest Urban Area of HCMC. (Photo: SGGP)
Development motivation from the highway According to the assessment of economic and urban experts, the biggest barrier that the development of the Northwest Urban Area faces is traffic. The Institute of Planning and Construction of HCMC affirmed that the Northern development corridor depends entirely on the North-South arterial road, the National Highway 22. However, the National Highway 22 is overloaded and lacks investment resources to connect with surrounding development directions, such as Binh Duong and Tay Ninh provinces. The An Suong - Moc Bai route, also known as the parallel route to the National Highway 22 to share the traffic pressure, has not started construction yet. From the perspective of planning, according to Mr. Hoang Minh Tri, former Director of the Institute of Construction Planning and Construction of HCMC, at present, the Northwest Urban Area has been placed in a completely new context, which is extremely convenient for investment attraction. Firstly, the HCMC - Moc Bai Expressway will be invested and completed soon and become the main driving force for the development of the Northwest Urban Area in particular and the region in general, such as Binh Duong and Tay Ninh provinces, and connect to Cambodia. Secondly, the Ben Thanh - Tham Luong metro line No.2 has basically completed the construction site clearance and is being accelerated the implementation process. At the same time, the connection plan from Tham Luong to Cu Chi has also been clearly determined to include in the implementation plan. This metro line is expected to connect to the expressway to Tay Ninh Province. Thus, these routes are expected to relieve the traffic tension in the inner city, the section from Tan Son Nhat Airport to the Northern districts and neighboring provinces. Thanks to that, the circulation of labor and goods between regions will be easier. Especially, with the increasingly severe climate change, HCMC urban development needs to have a concise overview of this area, including high geological base and hard soil, which will not be affected by floods and high tides.
The decisive role of the government in attracting investment
According to Architect Khuong Van Muoi, HCMC Architects Association, although a heavily-invested infrastructure system, good geology, and convenient location for regional and international linkages are important, it is still not enough. The call for investment must be made by the government. It will be the decisive factor to ensure the success of investment attraction for the Northwest Urban Area. When the government introduces the project and organizes conferences and seminars to call for domestic and foreign investment, investors can clearly see the importance of the project in the future. At the same time, it is also a message to assure investors of the determination of the government in the construction of the Northwest Urban Area. It has been proven by the new urban areas of Phu My Hung and Thu Thiem. The government invests in infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, and underground tunnels, and carries out site clearance, and investors only do their part.
According to Architect Khuong Van Muoi, HCMC Architects Association, although a heavily-invested infrastructure system, good geology, and convenient location for regional and international linkages are important, it is still not enough. The call for investment must be made by the government. It will be the decisive factor to ensure the success of investment attraction for the Northwest Urban Area. When the government introduces the project and organizes conferences and seminars to call for domestic and foreign investment, investors can clearly see the importance of the project in the future. At the same time, it is also a message to assure investors of the determination of the government in the construction of the Northwest Urban Area. It has been proven by the new urban areas of Phu My Hung and Thu Thiem. The government invests in infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, and underground tunnels, and carries out site clearance, and investors only do their part.
