Party General Secretary To Lam has instructed the new Ho Chi Minh City to be envisioned as a smart, green, and creative international megacity after merging with neighboring Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces.

It will be a regional hub for finance, trade, logistics, high-tech industry, and marine tourism, based on digital technology, green economy, environmental sustainability, and social harmony, the Party leader said at a working session with leaders of the three localities on June 18.

The merger marks a historic urban transformation, creating a dynamic triad forming a megacity of finance, industry, and seaports, he said.

It also aims to attract talent, entrepreneurs, and innovators from Vietnam and around the world, foster startups and advanced models, and become both the national economic locomotive and a globally influential city.

A new governance model is urgently required—stronger than provincial and more flexible than regional authorities—capable of managing the three-pole megacity in an era of global integration and competition. The new city must be the epitome of enabling, transparent, and efficient digital governance that retains public trust during its development process, the party leader said.