Gridlocked and flood-prone, Vietnam’s biggest city struggles to keep pace with its own breakneck growth
- Ho Chi Minh City need decisive action fast to overcome crowding and climate challenges and secure its 10 million residents’ future quality of life
- Some bold ideas have been put forward, but funding woes and infrastructure paralysis mean its problems could turn into a drag on the whole economy
As soon as the roads are widened a fresh glut of cars moves in to fill them, says lifelong Ho Chi Minh City resident Thinh Pham, who fears urban planning is forever condemned to lag behind the unrelenting growth of one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic cities.
“I could be wrong, but when it comes to flooding they aren’t fixing any foundational problems, only building higher streets, and the city is sinking faster than they build,” Thinh Pham told This Week in Asia.
“I feel like people are moving here as fast as they expand the streets. There was a bridge near my house where they removed the sidewalks to expand the road … and two months after they finished the traffic was just as bad. The streets here are not made for cars. It’s crazy!”
Thinh Pham’s gripes are familiar to many of Ho Chi Minh City’s residents, grappling every day with the trials of life in a fast-growing megacity.
Experts warn that the congestion and overcrowding are symptoms of broader development struggles, with a lengthy list of essential projects facing extended delays likely to make the tough parts of city life even harder over the coming years.
