The 30-Year Stalled Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Project: A New Chapter Unveiled

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture has announced the results of the first round of an international competition for conceptual planning and architectural design ideas for the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area project in Binh Thanh district. Five consortia have been selected to proceed to the second round of the competition.

The department received 19 eligible registrations from consulting firms and consortia for the competition.

Out of the 19 participating consulting firms, 10 were selected by the first-round jury to receive a financial support of VND 25 million each, in accordance with the competition’s regulations. This amount will be disbursed to the selected firms after the competition concludes.

Based on the competition’s regulations, the working rules of the first-round jury, and the evaluation criteria for the firms’ capabilities and research methodologies, the jury scored and evaluated the submissions, selecting 5 out of the 10 firms to advance to the second round.

The five consortia that made it to the second round are: the consortium of Nam Va Cong So Co., Ltd., Taiwan Institute of Urban Planning and Design, and Nagecco General Consulting and Construction Co., Ltd.; the consortium of CPG Vietnam Co., Ltd., CPG Consultant PTE LTD, and SEAPE Construction Consulting Co., Ltd.; the consortium of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and the Architectural Research Center; the consortium of Sasaki Associates INC, Encity Urban Solutions PTE.LTD, and the City Institute of Planning and Construction; and the consortium of Dong Phong Consulting Co., Ltd., T.Y. LIN International Technical Consulting Co., Ltd., and Powerchina Urban Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd. Notably, all five of these consortia include foreign companies.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture, the five consortia that advanced to the second round, which is the official competition round, will be provided with detailed information and documents to develop their competition proposals, including maps, drawings, and other relevant documents related to the competition regulations and design tasks.

The consortia in the second round will have eight weeks to complete their submissions. The first-place winner will receive a prize of VND 5 billion, the second-place winner will receive VND 3.75 billion, and the consortium receiving honorable mention will receive VND 1.25 billion.

At the beginning of July, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued a decision approving the regulations for the international competition for conceptual planning and architectural design ideas for the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area project. The scope of the competition includes the entire Binh Quoi-Thanh Da area (the Saigon River section and some areas across the river in Thu Duc City and Binh Thanh district) specifically bounded by Ha Noi Highway and Road No. 2 to the east, National Highway 13, Nguyen Xi Street, and Dien Bien Phu Street to the west, Vo Nguyen Giap Street to the south, and Pham Van Dong Street to the north.

The Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area project has been in the works for many years, but due to its large size, high total investment, and complex site clearance and compensation process, it has been delayed for a long time. This delay has had a profound impact on the lives and rights of thousands of households living in the area.

Therefore, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City believes that organizing this international competition is essential to find unique ideas and optimal and feasible planning solutions that connect the two sides of the Saigon River and improve land use efficiency in this area, in line with the city’s orientation.

The Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area project has been in the planning since 1992 and is located in Ward 28 of Binh Thanh district, covering an area of nearly 427 hectares.

In June 2004, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued a decision to revoke and temporarily hand over the land to the Saigon Construction Corporation to prepare for investment in the construction of the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area. In December 2004, the Saigon Construction Corporation submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture a new detailed planning task for the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da peninsula.

In June 2005, the Department of Planning and Architecture reported to the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on this planning task. The main content of the planning task was to transform Binh Quoi-Thanh Da into an ecological and modern urban area with the main function of an ecological park with natural landscapes combined with modern commerce and public spaces while retaining national cultural identity.

In early 2006, Ho Chi Minh City determined that Binh Quoi-Thanh Da would be a new urban area with a population of about 80,000 people. Residents within the planning area would be resettled on-site or relocated to District 9. In 2010, the Saigon Construction Corporation had its investment license revoked by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City due to the prolonged “hanging” of the project without implementing investment.

In 2015, the joint venture between Bitexco Group and Emaar Properties PJSC was designated by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as the investor for the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area project, with a total investment of over VND 30,000 billion and a term of 50 years. However, from then until now, the project has encountered many obstacles, and the partner in the joint venture with Bitexco Group has withdrawn, causing this urban project to continue to be “hanging.”

The Binh Quoi-Thanh Da project is expected to become one of the economic and tourism centers of Ho Chi Minh City due to its advantageous location and great development potential. However, at present, the area resembles a poor, desolate rural area in the heart of Saigon. People grow rice, raise pigs, and fish here, just a few kilometers away from the city center.