INDUSTRY AND DYNAMIC URBAN CHAINS OF HO CHI MINH CITY

Abstract

The merger of Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces under Resolution No. 60-NQ/TW in 2025 has led to the formation of a mega-city with the largest economic scale and population in Viet Nam, thereby opening up a new development space of national strategic significance. Rather than simply expanding administrative boundaries, this consolidation creates new institutional and spatial conditions for Ho Chi Minh City to restructure its economic space and reorganise the urban-industrial-service development model toward a more integrated, modern, and sustainable orientation. This paper analyses the role of Ho Chi Minh City as a dynamic mega-city and an emerging growth pole of the national economy from the perspective of spatial planning and sectoral structure. Based on a synthesis of theories on mega-cities, growth poles, and integrated planning, the study elucidates the potential for establishing interconnected urban-industrial-logistics chains linking innovation hubs, high-tech manufacturing, and seaport-energy systems. Accordingly, the paper discusses the challenges of coordinating integrated development across the city and proposes policy solutions to enhance Ho Chi Minh City's leading role as a mega-city in the context of digital transformation and green growth.