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Future Ho Chi Minh City: construction and transport projects in Saigon

March 19, 2018 By James Clark 15 Comments

Future Saigon construction projects

A List of the major construction and transport projects that are planned or under construction in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City is undergoing a construction boom, which is especially apparent when you walk around District 1. This post is a list of projects that have been proposed or are under construction. Buildings that have been listed here and have since been completed can be found at the bottom of the page.

If the project isn’t listed here it may have been moved to the stalled/abandoned section, or if it fell through completely visit the never built list.

Here is a look at the major construction projects that at planned or under construction in Ho Chi Minh City.

Current Projects Under Construction

One Central HCM

One Central HCM

Location: Tran Hung Dao, District 1.
News: SkyscraperCity

One Central HCM (previously known as Spirit Of Saigon and The One Ho Chi Minh City) will be two towers connected by a podium. The 55 and 48-story towers will contain a mix of office space, residential apartments, and a hotel. The towers represent two dragons with pearls in the mouths (a nod to Saigon when it was the ‘Pearl of the Orient’).

The site is opposite the future Ben Thanh Central metro interchange, so it is set to become a sought-after address.

Ben Thanh Central Station and Spirit of Saigon construction area
[Ben Thanh Central Station and Spirit of Saigon construction area.]

After years of delays, the basement levels were finished by mid-2017 and then the project stopped. By the end of 2019, the project restarted.

Read more about One Central HCM.

Ben Thanh Market Station and Le Loi Underground Plaza

Ben Thanh Market Station

Location: Ben Thanh Market, District 1, HCMC.

I’ve left the construction of the HCMC Metro out of this list as it will be in the transport section, but the Ben Thanh Market and Le Loi construction require their own section here. The Ben Thanh central station will eventually be a junction of three metro lines and it will feature an underground plaza. The traffic circle that was in front of the market has since been dug up, and it will be replaced by a pedestrian area. This is expected to be finished in 2020/2021.

Ben Thanh Market Station Underground Plaza

Between Ben Thanh and the Opera House, Le Loi Street will have an underground walkway/shopping area that will be above the Line 1 metro. Not much information has been released about this, so we wait for further updates on what it might look like.

I have made a map of the HCMC Metro, and also see my Saigon metro concept map.

For an update on the metro construction, read the Ho Chi Minh City Metro 2020 construction update.

IFC One Saigon

IFC One Saigon

Location: 34 Ton Duc Thang, District 1.
News: SkyscraperCity

IFC One Saigon is a 41-floor office and residential tower with a retail podium by Viva Land. This is the new name of the former Saigon One Tower, which was abandoned in 2012 and remained uncompleted until Viva Land took over the project in 2022.

IFC Saigon One and Bitexco
[IFC One Saigon and Bitexco.]

Empire City

Empire City - Thu Thiem

Location: Thu Thiem New Urban Area, District 2, HCMC.
Website: empirecity.vn
News: skyscrapercity.com

Next to Eco Smart City (separated by the park above the Thu Thiem tunnel) is Empire City. Its location is easy to spot from the District 1 side of the river as it has a showroom building near the waterfront. This parcel of land will be developed in sections by four different companies.

Construction was first announced in 2015, then in 2017 there was a major design change with a new tower by Büro Ole Scheeren.

Empire City by Büro Ole Scheeren

Like many of the projects in Saigon, finding accurate up-to-date information is hard going. The original tower was going to be 462 metres with 88 floors, making it almost the same size as Landmark 81. The new tower is now reported at 333 metres, though it’s still being reported as having 88 floors. That doesn’t add up, so I will be on the lookout for updated details.

Empire City preparation
[Empire City – March 2018.]

Full detail of the project can be found here: Empire City – The future landmark development of Ho Chi Minh City.

Hilton Saigon

Hilton Saigon
[Image via ata.vn.]

Location: 5 Me Linh Square, District 1, HCMC.
News: skyscrapercity.com

The Hilton makes its way to Saigon, filling in the last spot on Me Linh Square (and replacing what was one of the oldest buildings in the city.)

Saigon Hilton construction
[Saigon Hilton construction – April 2018.]

The Nexus

The Nexus

Location: 3A Ton Duc Thang, District 1, HCMC.
Website: refico.com.vn

The Nexus will comprise three towers on the District 1 riverfront. The towers will be a mix of offices and apartments, with food/retail on the lower floors.

The land was previously occupied by 3A Station, which was an arts and market area.

Grand Marina Saigon

Grand Marina

Location: Ba Son Complex, District 1, HCMC.
Website: masterisehomes.com
News: skyscrapercity.com

Grand Marina Saigon is a multi-tower serviced apartment project in the Bason area on the Saigon River. This is the first JW Marriott & Marriott branded residences in Vietnam, and it will be the largest Marriott branded residences in the world.

Sun Tower

Sun Tower
[Image via m-ply.com.sg.]

Location: 2 Ton Duc Thang, Ba Son, District 1, HCMC.
Website: capitaland.com
News: skyscrapercity.com

Sun Tower was originally part of the Vinhomes Golden River development with Capitaland from Singapore. The tower is now part of the Masterise Grand Marina project.

This office tower will be 240 metres and includes a distinctive feature of shuffled floor plates near the top of the tower. These cantilevered floors will provide space for outdoor activities and greenery. The podium will include a four-storey shopping mall.

Hyatt Place Hyatt House Tower

Hyatt Place Hyatt House Tower

Location: Eco Green Saigon, District 7, HCMC.
Status: Due to start 2020.
Architects: deciBel.

The Hyatt Place Hyatt House Tower is the signature tower of the Eco Green Saigon project in District 7. The tower will be 275 metres with 69 floors, making it the second-tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City (of current buildings).

“The Tower contains a conference centre and commercial offices to the lower floors. The upper levels are dedicated to the new Hyatt House + Hyatt Place dual destination of long-stay apartment living and short-stay premium hotel offerings. These two accommodation options share a spectacular sky lobby and access to a unique revolving restaurant and public sky deck viewing lounge at the pinnacle of the project.”

Hyatt announces plans for new Hyatt Place and Hyatt House Hotels in Ho Chi Minh City – [21/11/19]

Saigon Luxury

Saigon Luxury

Location: 11D Thi Sach, District 1, HCMC

This project started out as the 12-story Sai Gon Residences project. Construction ground to a halt in 2007 when the neighbouring Cosaco Building at 5 Nguyen Sieu Street was damaged.

Nguyen Sieu and Thi Sach
[Corner of Nguyen Sieu and Thi Sach.]

After being abandoned for many years this site recommenced as Saigon Luxury in November 2018.

Land clearing for Saigon Luxury

Lancaster Legacy

Lancaster Legacy

Location: 230 Nguyen Trai, District 1, HCMC.
News: skyscrapercity.com

The Lancaster Legacy will be an apartment complex with a shopping mall in the podium. The site on Nguyen Trai used to be a shopping centre and cinema, opposite the land that forms part of the Nguyen Cu Trinh Centre. Work began in 2020.

Lancaster Residences D4

Lancaster Residences D4
[Image via diaoconline.vn.]

Location: 78 Ton That Thuyet, District 4, HCMC.

Phuong Long 2 Office Building

Phuong Long 2 Office Building
[Image via Toan Thinh Phat.]

Location: 16 Nguyen Truong To, District 4, HCMC.

Diamond Lotus Riverside

Diamond Lotus Riverside

Location: Le Quang Kim, District 8, HCMC.
Website: riverside.diamondlotus.vn

This riverside apartment development looks like a boxier version of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Once it is finished it could be a catalyst for transforming District 8.

Techcombank Saigon Tower

Techcombank Saigon Tower

Location: 23 Le Duan, District 1, HCMC.

Proposed Projects

Future projects that have been proposed but not started yet (and maybe never will).

Eco Smart City

ECO – SMART CITY

Location: Thu Thiem New Urban Area, District 2, HCMC.

South Korean conglomerate Lotte won the right to develop prime riverfront land in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area.

The project will include office, retail, and residential areas. The package includes developing roads and associated infrastructure that goes with building a city from scratch. What is being built here is still light on details, and my eyes are rolling to the back of my head as I type “eco smart city”. As with the Ecological Urban Area in Thanh Da, all building projects should already be smart and ecological. Having said that I am looking forward to seeing what designs the Lotte group brings to this project.

Read more about Thu Thiem Eco Smart City.

District 4 Riverfront Redevelopment

District 4 Riverfront Redevelopment

Location: Saigon River, District 4, HCMC.
Status: Unknown.

A massive redevelopment along the entire riverfront of District 4 would turn the old docks into a mixed-use new city. Details are a little sketchy on this one as the original sources have since been taken down. What is known is that something big is happening along here, as whole blocks have been cleared of tenants in preparation for future development. The current ports will move Hiep Phuoc Port when their leases expire.

Part of this redevelopment will include the Thu Thiem 3 Bridge, which will connect District 4 to Thu Thiem in District 2.

Thu Thiem Bridge 3

Another version of this project has been released by Vinhomes (an uglier version IMHO) but there are few details on this.

Vinhomes District 4 Riverfront

Nguyen Cu Trinh Centre

Nguyen Cu Trinh Centre

Location: Nguyen Cu Trinh, District 1.
Status: Unknown.
Website: bitexco.com.vn

The Nguyen Cu Trinh Centre has been dubbed Golden Land and will include retail and office buildings, residential, and the new Saigon Hospital. The area is west of Pham Ngu Lau, inside Nguyen Trai/Cong Quynh/Nguyen Cu Trinh/Tran Dinh Xu.

The current area is a high-density residential area, with a deadline of the end of 2018 for clearance and demolition.

Ecological Urban Area Binh Quoi – Thanh Da

Ecological Urban Area Binh Quoi - Thanh Da

Location: Thanh Da, Binh Thanh District.
Status: Unknown.
Developer: Bitexco.
News: skyscrapercity.com

The Ecological Urban Area is set in an island of land surrounded by a dramatic meander of the Saigon River. Thanh Da is currently low rise housing, and parts of it feel like you’re in the Mekong Delta. I’m sceptical of anything that is branded “ecological” (all new buildings should be striving to be ecological) and the land looks prone to flooding, so it would be a big project to turn it into a new city.

Another concern is that there is no metro station included in the current metro masterplan, which any new city of this size should include.

Thanh Da from my window
[Thanh Da as viewed upon approach to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.]

Further reading:
Binh Quoi Thanh Da Island Master Plan

District 5 Cultural Center

District 5 Cultural Center

Location: 105 Tran Hung Dao, District 5, HCMC.
Status: Unknown.

With so many malls and apartments planned, it’s good to see a public cultural space has been proposed. The District 5 Cultural Center was announced in 2015, and it still remains as just a plan.

Artemis II

Artemis II
[Image via img.vn.]

Location: 448 Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4, HCMC.
Status: Unknown.

Opposite the proposed District 4 waterfront redevelopment is this remarkable twin tower. No timeline has been set for this, though some of the properties that are currently on this address have been boarded up.

Charminton District 1

Charmington District 1

Location: 23 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, HCMC.

23 Ly Tu Trong corner
[23 Ly Tu Trong – March, 2018.]

Hotel Indigo

Hotel Indigo
[Image via ihgplc.com.]

Location: Ly Tu Trong, District 1, HCMC.

Kimdo Hotel Complex

Kimdo Hotel Complex
[Image via swavietnam.com.]

Location: Nguyen Hue, District 1, HCMC.
Status: Planned.

New hotel development on Nguyen Hue.

Saigon Dragon Tower

Saigon Dragon Tower

Location: 7-9 Ton Duc Thang, District 1, HCMC.
Status: Not known.

Completed Projects

Projects that were first listed here and have since been completed.

Landmark 81

Landmark 81
[Image via vibim.com.vn.]

Location: Vinhomes Central Park, 720A Dien Bien Phu, Binh Thạnh District, HCMC.
Construction: coteccons.vn.
News: skyscrapercity.com

This tower has a self-descriptive name as it has already become a landmark of the city, and it has 81 floors. The Landmark 81 is the tallest tower in Vietnam, and it was briefly the tallest building in Southeast Asia.

Landmark 81 at Vinhomes Central Park

For such a big project it went up surprisingly fast. The building topped out at 461.2 metres 46 days ahead of schedule.

The tower design is inspired by a bundle of bamboo, with sections tapering off to leave one final bamboo stick at the top. It’s a beautiful design that will rank proudly among the best skyscrapers in the world. It will include a hotel, apartments, and shopping.

Vinhomes Central Park

Vinhomes Central Park

News: skyscrapercity.com

Vinhomes Central Park went up just as fast as Landmark 81. Technically the Landmark 81 tower is part of Vinhomes Central Park, though it stands out as a project in itself so I placed it separately.

It’s an odd design, to say the least. This high-density cluster of apartments looks more like a housing commission project in Hong Kong. The apartments are facing each other rather than making the most of a river view. I’m not sure why the apartments are clustered around what should be the jewel of the city (the Landmark 81), blocking the view from District 1.

Vinhomes Central Park construction - 2017
[Vinhomes Central Park construction – 2017.]

On the plus side, the new park that goes with it is wonderful. Aside from naming it after an already famous park (why not give it a Vietnamese name), it’s a rare event to see a new urban park open in a big city. The park is already proving to be popular, so I hope it sets a precedent for more open space planning.

Vinhomes Central Park

Vinhomes Golden River

Vinhomes Golden River

Location: Ba Son Complex, District 1, HCMC.
Website: goldenriver.vinhomes.vn
News: skyscrapercity.com

Vinhomes Golden River occupies a prime waterfront location in District 1. This development features five apartment towers and villas.

Vinhomes Golden River

This project came at a great cost to the city’s heritage. The site is on the former Ba Son Shipyard, which had a large collection of historic warehouses and shipbuilding equipment. Other cities around the world have transformed their old dockland warehouses into markets, restaurants, and office space. One of the remaining warehouses has been preserved and will be a museum. There will also be a park and riverfront walkway.

Bason remnant

Originally the whole Bason area was by going to be developed by Vinhomes. Then Alpha King took over about half of the site, and now the rest of the project is being developed as the Grand Marina project.

Friendship Tower

Friendship Tower

Location: 31 Le Duan, District 1, HCMC.
Website: czslovakia.sk

The Friendship Tower occupies the block of the former Vietnam-France Friendship Association. The property is between Deutsches Haus and Saigon Tower. Work began at the start of 2018 and was completed in 2020.

Sonatus

Sonatus

Location: 15 Le Thanh Ton, District 1, HCMC.

After being abandoned for a few years this 25-storey office tower restarted in 2019. It was rebranded as Sonatus and opened for tenants in 2020.

Sonatus

Viettel Trade Center

Viettel Trade Center
[Image via diaoconline.vn.]

Location: 285 CMT 8, District 10, HCMC.
News: skyscrapercity.com

The Viettel Trade Center features two towers near the busy Dan Chu roundabout, which will eventually have a station on the Line 2 metro.

Viettel Trade Center

LIM Tower III

LIM Tower III Building

Location: 29A Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 1, HCMC.
Status: Completed.

LIM Tower III construction
[LIM Tower III – March 2018.]

Five Star Tower

Five Star Tower

Location: 28 Bis Mac Dinh Chi, District 1, HCMC.
Status: Completed.

Five Star Tower construction
[Five Star Tower construction – March 2018.]

V Tower

V Tower

Location: 131 Dien Bien Phu, Binh Thanh, HCMC.
News: skyscrapercity.com

The V Tower (or V-Ikon) got as far as completing the concrete shell, and then there was a shortage of funding which left it unfinished for years.

V Tower on Dien Bien Phu
[V Tower on Dien Bien Phu.]

DB Tower

DB Tower

Location: 141-143-145 Dien Bien Phu, Binh Thanh, HCMC.

Next to the V Tower is the DB Tower, which also restarted construction after years of being stalled.

V Tower and DB Tower
[V Tower and DB Tower.]

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Filed Under: Future Cities Tagged With: ho chi minh city, vietnam

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James Clark is the editor of Future Southeast Asia . Get the latest articles and news by subscribing to the Future Southeast Asia Newsletter.

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Comments

  1. WalterEe says

    August 1, 2018 at 7:15 am

    Hi James Clark
    many thanks to your article and very well updated information.

    Reply
    • Mark says

      March 19, 2019 at 4:06 pm

      Hi James,

      Nice pictures and description.

      I’m interested to find out a bit more on these projects, how can I reach you?

      Reply
      • James Clark says

        March 20, 2019 at 12:13 am

        Hi Mark,

        you can use the contact form at https://futuresoutheastasia.com/contact/ or by email, livinginasia.co(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks.

        Reply
    • max says

      July 8, 2019 at 6:35 am

      Hi James Clark,

      It is great to read your blog.
      I wrote you to gmail.
      I am planning a trip to Vietnam soon. Which city are you based in? Would it be possible for a meeting with you?

      thanks.

      Reply
  2. Lee Stapleton says

    April 8, 2019 at 1:56 am

    Hi James,
    Great site, interested to know the project process, ie how an international subcontractor can bid for these projects?

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      April 8, 2019 at 7:07 am

      Hi Lee, good question. I will look into finding someone who knows if they can post an article here.

      Reply
  3. Pat says

    April 15, 2019 at 6:29 am

    This is really helpful, thanks.

    Reply
  4. N. P. says

    July 7, 2019 at 8:06 pm

    Looking for under construction new project in HCMC district 3 and 7 with respected builders .

    Reply
  5. Tom says

    September 22, 2019 at 6:56 am

    The development of a city is more than apartment blocks and shopping malls. There are hospitals, schools, transport hubs, parks, sewage networks and water ways, drainage, junctions and bus lanes, under ground cables, telecommunications, legal systems and regulations, traffic enforcement. Many countries have or are tearing down apartment blocks built in the 60-70s. Apartment blocks and shopping malls hardly improve the quality of life for local people.

    Reply
  6. Antonio says

    July 2, 2020 at 12:26 am

    Keep up the superb work, I read few blog posts on this web site and I think that your
    site is very interesting and has sets of great information.

    Reply
  7. Eric Owen says

    November 25, 2020 at 5:42 am

    Great article, looking forward to reading about the updates and seeing them in person. Do you have any idea what will happen to the abandoned skyscraper in D1?

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      November 25, 2020 at 9:42 am

      There is talk that is has been acquired but nothing has been announced yet. I will post it if anything is known. Otherwise it will remain a ghost tower like the one in Bangkok.

      Reply
  8. Hòai Anh says

    November 30, 2021 at 6:41 am

    interesting picture and description. Very good.

    Reply
  9. Adam Ly says

    August 27, 2024 at 6:05 pm

    I believe the Diamond Lotus Riverside, the Hilton, the Techcombank Saigon tower and the Phuong Long 2 office building have all been completed.

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      August 27, 2024 at 11:35 pm

      Thanks for the updates, I will be updating this page when I do the annual construction report.

      Reply

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