The planned scale of the Ho Chi Minh City's urban railway network has expanded to over 1,000 km following its merger with Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces since July 1, 2025.

According to the city Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), this significant increase in funding scale presents a major challenge in securing sufficient capital to develop the urban railway network.

MAUR noted that under the plan referenced in the National Assembly's Resolution 188/2025/QH15, issued on February 19, 2025, the former HCM City alone was projected to require approximately $40.2 billion to complete the investment and construction of seven metro lines with a total length of 355 km.

To address the financial framework for developing the city's metro system, the National Assembly has issued Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15, piloting special mechanisms and policies for urban railway network development in Hanoi and HCM City, as well as the Law on Railways (June 27, 2025).

These regulations outline various capital sources for metro system investment, including: targeted funding from the central budget to local budgets, Official Development Assistance (ODA), foreign concessional loans, local government bonds, revenue from Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas, and private capital through direct investment and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models.

Beyond the financial hurdles, the city's urban railway development project faces several other significant challenges. These include issues related to human resource development, the growth of a domestic railway industry, and the complex tasks of compensation, support, and resettlement required for site clearance.