Ho Chi Minh City seeks a new institutional framework for a mega-city: Proposal for a Special City Law

Ho Chi Minh City is facing a push to break through with a superior legal framework broad enough for the mega-city model after the merger. At a conference on April 4, experts proposed building a Special Urban Law with a 'sandbox' mechanism to empower the city to remove institutional bottlenecks and open space for development in the new era. On April 4, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, in cooperation with Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, organized a consultant conference on the draft Special Urban Law – a policy breakthrough and space for development for HCMC in the new era. At the conference, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Do Phu Tran Tinh, Director of the Policy Development Institute of VNU-HCM and the Faculty of Economics-Law, said that HCMC must reposition itself in the process of building the Special Urban Law. He argued that after the merger, HCMC has large development space. Meanwhile, in recent times, the special mechanisms have facilitated HCMC's development and achieved certain achievements. However, these special mechanisms do not fit the new context of a mega-city model. According to Tinh, if positioned correctly, the city will have a scientific basis to argue with the central government and the National Assembly that HCMC develops for the nation and the country must accompany HCMC. 'We also need a sandbox – a policy laboratory to build mechanisms beyond the current legal framework, helping the city wear a coat broad enough to fit a mega-city,' Tinh said. Reviewing a series of Politburo resolutions for HCMC, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan, Chairman of the Advisory Council for Breakthrough Development at Saigon University, noted that the city has not yet fully unlocked its potential and advantages. He said one reason is institutional bottlenecks. He said there are too many resolutions to remove bottlenecks, but they are episodic and short-term. HCMC needs a more stable long-term institutional framework. 'That is why we really need a law for the city,' Ngan said. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan, the city must also harness and develop growth drivers after the merger such as maritime economy, logistics center, free trade zone, high-tech park, eco-industrial park, and international financial center. It should also leverage the Politburo's resolutions and strategies in the law for HCMC. Policy breakthroughs: According to Prof. Dr. Thai Thi Tuyet Dung, Head of the Legal Affairs Department, VNU-HCM, the Special Urban Law is designed to build common ground while preserving HCMC's own characteristics. Current laws identify only two special cities: Hanoi and HCMC. She proposed several breakthrough policies: empower the People’s Councils and People’s Committees to issue documents different from those at the central level; issue legal documents to simplify the procedures, jurisdictions, and powers compared to central regulations. At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Vice Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee, said the conference is an opportunity for strategic collaboration between government and scientists to shape the development space for the city in the new era. Cuong noted that the Politburo has recently approved conditions for HCMC to summarize comprehensive Politburo Resolution 31 toward 2030 with a vision to 2045. There is also agreement for HCMC to draft a new resolution to replace Resolution 31, establishing a vision to 2075 – the 100th anniversary of the Liberation and national reunification. Leaders said this is a very important basis for research, proposals and preparing materials to continue proposing to central authorities and the Politburo on drafting the Special City Law.