Tran Bien Ward: Toward being worthy of Dong Nai province’s central urban hub

In 2025, Dong Nai posted its strongest economic growth on record, driven in part by the expanding role of Tran Bien, the province’s mega-ward.

An urban vista of Tran Bien Ward on the banks of the Dong Nai River.

The economic gains achieved so far have laid a firm foundation for the ward’s stable operation, while opening up room for its urban development in a civilized, modern, and sustainable direction in the coming period.

Budget revenues reach 149% of the plan

Tran Bien is dubbed a “mega-ward” as it has the largest population in the province following the merger. After more than six months of operation, its organizational apparatus has been gradually consolidated, with governance and management increasingly falling into place. On that foundation, the ward has recorded encouraging progress across key socio-economic development tasks.

Speaking on January 12 at the provincial People’s Committee conference reviewing 2025 performance and setting out priorities for 2026, Nguyen Duy Tan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tran Bien Ward, said the local economy remained resilient and posted steady gains over the past year. He noted that revenue collection was managed and organized in a focused and systematic manner, targeting key sources. As a result, state budget revenue in the ward topped 137.7 billion dong, reaching 149% of the target assigned by the province and approved by the Ward People’s Council.

He added that the results were driven by a coordinated set of measures, notably the close cooperation between the ward People’s Committee, neighborhood management boards and Local Tax Office No. 3 to review, update and finalize non-agricultural land tax records. Information pieces on taxpayers, land categories, and taxable entities were comprehensively updated to ensure accurate, full and timely collection. Outstanding arrears were dealt with decisively, with strict measures applied against cases of deliberate non-compliance. At the same time, the ward stepped up support for residents and household businesses in meeting their tax obligations, while pushing administrative reforms and simplifying the process of business registration, tax declaration and management.

Beyond tax revenues, Tran Bien has stepped up the management and effective use of public assets and state-owned land. Plots with strategic advantages and in line with planning have been reviewed and prepared for tendering and land-use rights auctions to bolster budget revenues. The ward has also proactively invested in developing resettlement areas to create land reserves for site clearance, including two projects currently being advanced in Tan Buu and Buu Long neighborhoods.

Statistic figures show that 28 state-funded investment projects are currently underway in the ward. In recent times, local authorities have prioritized processing dossiers related to land acquisition, compensation, support and resettlement, completing site clearance for several major projects, including the Dong Nai riverside road, the central arterial road from Vo Thi Sau to Dang Van Tron (the Thong Nhat Bridge and its access roads), and Ngo Nhon Tinh Secondary School. Other projects have also made strong progress. Specifically, the Cai River riverside road section running from Ha Huy Giap to Tran Quoc Toan has reached 98% completion in land acquisition, compensation, support, and resettlement, while the project to convert Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park into an urban, commercial and service hub associated with environmental improvements has completed land recovery and resettlement for more than 1,400 households, nearly 98% of the total.

Shaping a modern, sustainable urban core

Tran Bien is more than a “mega-ward”; it serves as the province’s political, economic, cultural, and education–science centre. This status places a clear imperative on developing technical and social infrastructure, along with architectural and landscape spaces to be commensurate with a modern central urban area of Dong Nai province.

At the conference reviewing 2025 performance and rolling out tasks and plans for 2026, convened by the Department of Construction on January 14, Pham Duc Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Tran Bien Ward People’s Committee, said the locality aims to position Tran Bien as a modern, sustainable urban hub, closely linked to Dong Nai province’s urban and industrial growth drivers.

To turn this vision into reality, the Ward’s Party Committee and People’s Committee in early January 2026 rolled out a plan to implement breakthrough initiatives in the field of planning, in line with the Resolution of the 1st Tran Bien Ward Party Congress for the 2025–2030 term. The plan sets out a ward-wide master plan at a 1:10,000 scale to be completed by 2026, providing a long-term vision and new room for socio-economic development. Full coverage of 1:2,000 zoning plans is targeted for 2027 to translate the master plan into concrete urban structures, while detailed 1:500 plans are expected to cover about half of the area by 2030, with priority given to zones designated for major projects.

Local officials say Tran Bien holds numerous advantages to further accelerate its development and rise to the level befitting the province’s central urban hub. Specifically, the ward enjoys distinctive strengths in transport connectivity to major arteries, including National Highways 1A and 51 and Nguyen Ai Quoc Avenue, while major infrastructure projects such as riverfront roads and an urban rail line are set to unlock new growth space. Especially, with more than 12 kilometres of frontage along the Dong Nai River and waterways surrounding Cu Lao Pho, Tran Bien also holds significant potential for riverfront eco-districts, parks and leisure developments, underpinning a greener, more sustainable urban environment.

Covering more than 3,100 hectares and home to nearly 200,000 residents, Tran Bien is the province’s largest “mega ward” by scale. It also serves as the administrative, political, economic and cultural hub of the province.

In parallel, several large land parcels - including the Hiep Hoa new urban area, the provincial administrative and political hub, and sites designated for auction to support commercial and service projects - are being advanced for investment. Once completed and put into operation, these projects are set to drive socio-economic growth, enhance living standards for residents, and contribute to the emergence of a modern, integrated and civilized urban area.

By Hoang Loc – Translated by Tam Binh, Thu Ha