Source: Evers, H-D., Benedikter, S., Strategic Group Formation in the Mekong Delta – The Development of a Modern Hydraulic Society, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, February 2009.
© Map of Saigon and cholon in 1883 by JNSN architecten.
Own figure based on data from www.becamex.com.vn.
“Plan to turn HCM City into Asian economic hub by 2050” (Vietnamnet, April 2, 2009). On March 31 the Ministry of Construction announced an ambitious plan to develop the country’s largest city into one of the major economic hubs in Asia by 2050. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area master plan, this area will include eight provinces with the former Saigon as its heart. The government predicts that by 2020 the amount of inhabitants of the Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area will be between 20 to 22 million people. The population will increase to 25 to 27 million by 2050 and 90% of the people will live in urban areas.
Read more on Vietnamnet.
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The urban expansion of Ho Chi Minh City seems to have taken place on mostly marsh land. Thu Thiem Peninsula New town is a good example. This area lies between 0.5 to +1.5 meters above sea level and the soil is too bad for construction. Therefore, maximum building height in this new town should be forty stories. When the urban extensions are planned in these flood-prone areas, decision makers have to take into consideration the risks of sea level rise. Probably the locations of this kind of new areas are mainly based on land use calculations instead of natural circumstances.
Read more on Thu Thiem.
Nha Be is located 10 kilometers from the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. The Korean developer GS E&C presents this area as the main center of the Southern development line. A new North South road (60 meters wide) will connect the Ho Chi Minh City core center, Saigon South, Nha Be New town and the new developments near Hiep Phouc Industrial Complex. The river could structure the new town development. This kind of local elements are incorporated in the future-oriented Korean style town planning. According to the Korean developer Nha Be New town should be a number one private new town in Southeast area based on strength of Korean new towns.
Read more on GS Engineering & Construction.
