Ho Chi Minh City: How Vietnam's Emerging Megacity Will Develop

Megacity has become a buzzword associated with rapid urbanization and economic development. For Vietnam, the commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City is often identified within this narrative.

Megacities are typically defined as having a population in excess of 10 million. These demographic pressures often inspire governments to produce large-scale development programs designed to integrate infrastructure regionally. In China, this pressure has manifested into a city cluster plan to develop 19 super-regions across the country.

Ho Chi Minh City's reported population of 8.7 million by the end of 2018 and the absence of a large-scale city cluster plan mean that the commercial capital is falling short on some commonly used metrics. But there are many reasons why Ho Chi Minh City is not far off from becoming a megacity.