The government recently approved the creation of an ‘innovative urban area’ by combining the three eastern districts of 2, 9 and Thu Duc.

A class-1 city must have a population of one million, or 500,000 if administered by a province or city, a population density of at least 2,000 per square kilometer and a non-farm-labor ratio of more than 65 percent, and 85 percent in its inner area.

It also has to meet certain infrastructure and architecture requirements.

There are 22 such cities in Vietnam, most of them administered by provinces but three, Da Nang, Hai Phong, and Can Tho, administered centrally. HCMC and Hanoi are classified as ‘special class cities.’

The new entity is temporarily called Thu Duc City.

It will spread over more than 211 square kilometers and have a population of more than 1.5 million.

Accounting for a third of HCMC’s economy and 7 percent of the country’s GDP, it is expected to spearhead the development of the city and even the southeastern region.

It has an important geographical location between the city, the industrial hub of Dong Nai Province and the maritime transport hub of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

It is home to a hi-tech park in District 9, the university precinct in Thu Duc District and the emerging new urban hub and financial center on the Thu Thiem Peninsula in District 2.

HCMC will complete a master plan for establishing Thu Duc City and seek the government’s approval for it.

The 19 class-1 cities under provincial control are Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, and Thanh Hoa in the five namesake provinces, Viet Tri in Phu Tho, Ha Long in Quang Ninh, Vinh in Nghe An, Hue in Thua Thien-Hue, Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa, Quy Nhon in Binh Dinh, Da Lat in Lam Dong, Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak, Pleiku in Gia Lai, Vung Tau in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Bien Hoa in Dong Nai, Thu Dau Mot in Binh Duong, My Tho in Tien Giang, and Long Xuyen in An Giang.