Vietnam’s US$40 billion metro boom in Ho Chi Minh City

[HO CHI MINH CITY] Construction powerhouses from Vietnam – Vingroup, Sovico, Thaco, Masterise and Becamex – and Malaysia’s Gamuda Land are jockeying for a piece of Ho Chi Minh City’s massive metro build-out.

With the US$40 billion in hand from public and private capital sources, the city will build 10 urban railway lines by 2035. The network is poised to become the backbone of a new urban framework for Vietnam’s southern metropolis.

Momentum has picked up sharply this year, fuelled by legal reforms that give private conglomerates political cover, faster approvals and more viable public-private partnership models. The changes open the door for investors to secure prime land in exchange for developing critical transport infrastructure.