Finding that money from the public purse could be difficult, say observers, as Vietnam is keen to spread development funds evenly across the country. Last year, Vietnam had only 680,000 registered vehicles among its 83 million people, the state media said.Ĭurrent projections put the bill for public infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City over the next 20 years at $25 billion, says Tran Du Lich, president of the Institute for Economic Research, a government think tank. So far, though, the motorbike is king of the road, with some 3 million in Ho Chi Minh City. The biggest concern is that as incomes rise and import barriers fall, the swarm of motorbikes that fill the streets here at rush hour will eventually give way to cars. City planners are racing to build the new roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, and subway lines needed to keep the economy humming and avoid the kind of gridlock found in Bangkok and Manila. It's not only urban aesthetics that are challenged by Ho Chi Minh City's construction frenzy. And this leaves many wondering which vision of the future will triumph: a planned urban renewal or an unchecked boom that turns Ho Chi Minh City into another sprawling Asian metropolis. It's not a problem for us to have buildings that are 30 or 40, even 60 stories, as long as you don't have a conflict between our heritage and the new buildings," says Anh Tu Hoang, a director at the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City.īut dozens of concrete tower blocks have begun to peep above the low-rise skyline, as real estate developers do an end-run around lax zoning laws. But for urban planning, it was definitely good. "The colonial period wasn't good for everything. So far, 108 historic buildings have been listed for preservation, and plans are afoot to build a new financial district apart from the old city to satisfy demand for office space.
Government planners say they want to maintain the essence of the graceful colonial city laid out by French architects in the 19th century.
Glass and steel buildings are already sprouting across the city and by 2009, a 68-story skyscraper, designed to invoke the lotus flower and the ao dai worn by Vietnamese women, promises to be this city's Sears Tower.īut in a city struggling to update its creaking infrastructure and keep its historical core intact, critics say the breakneck speed of expansion could spell a slow death for the unique character of a city once known as the Pearl of the Orient. Now the master builders of Vietnam's commercial showcase are racing to put their stamp on tomorrow's skyline.
Both are symbols of global cities, recognizable currency of power and prestige.