The complex center model in Binh Duong new city has a station for the metro line connecting Ho Chi Minh City - Binh Duong - Photo: BA SON captured
On March 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh worked with the Standing Committees of Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Binh Duong on many issues, including the arrangement of administrative boundaries and organizational structure. The Prime Minister also spent a lot of time inspecting the connecting traffic works in the area.
Expressways, metro lines, railways, and waterways transporting goods connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the "production area" of Binh Duong and deep-water ports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau have been gradually taking shape.
Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong connected by metro and highway
According to many experts, Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong are geographically adjacent, so there are many socio-economic interactions. Typically, the Ho Chi Minh City National University urban area is over 643 hectares wide, with 2/3 of the area located in Di An city, Binh Duong province.
Major projects such as the Hanoi Highway and the new Eastern Bus Station are located in both Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong province.
Many regional connection projects between Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong have been and are being formed. If calculated "horizontally", there is the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project (expected to open the main route at the end of 2025, the entire project will be completed in 2026), Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 (will be started by Binh Duong this year).
If calculated "vertically", Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong are being connected by the National Highway 13 project (the section through Binh Duong is being expanded to 8 lanes, and the section through Ho Chi Minh City, after decades of "inaction", is also being considered to expand from 4-6 lanes to 10 lanes, with a scale of more than 21,700 billion VND), or the My Phuoc - Tan Van road.
In particular, the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway was officially started by the Prime Minister on February 1, 2025. This is the first expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, and the Central Highlands.
The metro line connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong is also being studied for construction, and the People's Committee of Binh Duong province has reviewed and approved the project's pre-feasibility study report. This metro line will "extend" Ho Chi Minh City's metro line No. 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien from Suoi Tien bus station to station S1 in Binh Duong new city.
The Ho Chi Minh City - Binh Duong metro line is expected to be over 32.4km long, with a design speed of 120km/h, and a total investment of about VND64,370 billion. The project is proposed to start construction in 2027 and be put into operation in 2031.
According to experts, assuming the scenario of Binh Duong merging into Ho Chi Minh City happens, from the perspective of regional connection projects such as metro, expressway, expansion of National Highway 13... there will be conditions for synchronous connection and faster promotion.
The idea of a railway line specializing in transporting containers connecting industrial parks in Binh Duong and the Southeast towards the seaport in Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Photo: TUAN ANH
Vung Tau seaport "closer" to Binh Duong industrial park
If Binh Duong is considered one of the "production areas" of the country with about 30 industrial parks, leading in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) with thousands of projects in operation, Ba Ria - Vung Tau is considered one of the international gateways because it is adjacent to the sea and has Cai Mep - Thi Vai port.
However, the transportation of goods and raw materials by container between industrial zones and ports currently mainly depends on roads, accounting for 70% of the total volume of goods. The dependence on roads faces the risk of traffic jams, traffic accidents, etc., significantly reducing competitiveness in the international market. Meanwhile, other transportation channels such as railways, waterways, etc. have not yet been fully exploited.
For many years, a number of large investors have been studying the idea of a railway dedicated to transporting containers, connecting Binh Duong’s industrial zones directly to ports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City. This idea is also consistent with the detailed planning of the railway hub area of Ho Chi Minh City that has been issued.
Accordingly, Binh Duong province is studying to propose the implementation of some sections of these railway lines with a total length of over 100km. Three large logistics centers located along the dedicated railway line are also planned by Binh Duong, which will be the hub for receiving and distributing goods and raw materials to neighboring industrial parks.
When this dedicated railway line is put into operation, businesses will find it very convenient to transport goods and reduce pressure on delivery time with partners.
According to calculations, it currently takes at least 8-10 hours to transport a container from Binh Duong to a port in Ba Ria - Vung Tau by road. Meanwhile, if transporting a container by rail, with a designed speed of 120km/h for cargo ships, it may only take 2 hours for the goods to arrive at the port.
National Highway 13 through Binh Duong province has been under construction since 2022 to expand from 6 lanes to 8 lanes and is about to be completed, while National Highway 13 through Ho Chi Minh City is waiting to be expanded after decades of the project "on paper" - Photo: BA SON
Connecting goods and raw materials to ports by river is also taken into account. Typically, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City share the Saigon River, currently upstream of Binh Duong there are An Son ports (Thuan An City), An Tay port (Ben Cat City) planned... In order for large container ships to enter the ports, it is necessary to raise the clearance of bridges across the Saigon River.
Recently, the construction of two bridges, Binh Trieu 1 on National Highway 13 (increased height by 1.25m) and Binh Phuoc 1 on National Highway 1 (increased height by about 1.08m) has been started by Ho Chi Minh City, expected to be completed in 2025. After completion, these two bridges will help to synchronously meet the clearance of bridges on the Saigon River to reach a minimum of 7m.
This will "liberate" ships from ports on the upper Saigon River of not only Ho Chi Minh City but also ports in Binh Duong and Tay Ninh to go downstream, thereby promoting the development of industrial parks and urban areas in the region.
Experts propose merging Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau into Ho Chi Minh City
Previously, some experts speaking with Tuoi Tre Online made the above proposal.
According to urban history researcher Tran Huu Phuc Tien, these three localities are adjacent and closely linked economically. They will be a solution to complement each other in terms of area and population. At the same time, they will create the number one nucleus in the country in terms of economy and many other aspects.
"Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau entering a common administrative and economic boundary will take advantage of the advantages of all three and realize the vision towards a marine economy, green economy and digital economy," Mr. Tien commented.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Anh Tuan, Vietnam-Germany University, said that over the past 20-30 years, this has been an area with very strong infrastructure development. But there are still periods when everyone does their own thing. If we combine them into one, the synergy will be very high, avoiding stepping on each other's toes and creating a more unified and modern infrastructure system.
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