Vietnam Proposes Breakthrough Law for Special City Development, Including Ho Chi Minh City

The Vietnamese government submitted a draft law to the National Assembly on August 7, focusing on urban development and granting greater autonomy to special cities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City. Justice Minister Hoang Thanh Tung presented the bill, emphasizing its role in establishing a stable, synchronized, and breakthrough legal framework for urban development.

The legislation seeks to resolve institutional, infrastructural, and resource-related bottlenecks hindering rapid and sustainable development. Tung highlighted the need for a long-term, stable law to address issues in planning, infrastructure, environment, science-technology, innovation, digital transformation, education, healthcare, social security, regional connectivity, and urban governance, especially for special cities facing new challenges.

The draft law outlines principles and policy frameworks within the National Assembly's purview while empowering the government and local authorities in implementation. It draws parallels with the Law on the Capital to ensure policy consistency across special urban areas. The bill is structured into five chapters and 66 articles, concentrating on two main policy areas: enhancing decentralization for special cities and introducing specific policies to foster their growth. It also includes mechanisms to promote development in cities not yet designated as special.

Furthermore, the draft expands the authority of special cities in creating and issuing legal documents to detail implementation, guide regulations, and address unique urban management and development issues. This decentralization is designed to be balanced with oversight, inspection, and accountability mechanisms to maintain legal system consistency. The law aims to provide a legal basis for developing key growth sectors like international finance, free trade zones, logistics, marine economy, energy infrastructure, education, healthcare, and tourism, attracting strategic investors and fostering high-quality human resources, science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.

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The development requirements of cities, especially special urban areas in the new context, require the issuance of a law with long-term stability to solve problems related to planning, infrastructure, environment, science - technology, innovation, digital transformation, education, health, social security, regional linkage and urban governance.