On March 24, during the second working day of the 14th Party Central Committee’s second plenum, the Party Central Committee reviewed a proposal to establish Dong Nai as a centrally-run city.
With expanded development space, greater capacity, and strong underlying potential, Dong Nai is positioning itself to become a new urban hub and a key growth engine of the Southeast region and the country as a whole.
New opportunities in the country's new era
Following its merger with the former Binh Phuoc province, Dong Nai has emerged as one of the country’s largest localities in terms of area, while ranking among the top five in population and fourth in economic scale nationwide. These advantages provide a solid foundation for the province to accelerate its development trajectory.
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| Dong Nai develops a system of riverside urban areas to exploit the development potential of the Dong Nai River corridor. Photo: Pham Tung |
A defining milestone was the groundbreaking of Long Thanh International Airport in early 2021. According to Nguyen Van Ut, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Long Thanh Airport, seen as a project of national significance, is expected to become a powerful catalyst for economic growth. Beyond its role as a transportation hub, it is envisioned as a nucleus driving the expansion of industry, trade, services, logistics, urban development, and tourism.
Alongside Long Thanh Airport, Dong Nai also benefits from its strategic proximity to Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest economic center. This geographic position facilitates connectivity, trade, and investment flows, while enabling the province to benefit from the transfer of capital, technology, and high-quality human resources.
According to Member of the Standing Board of the Government’s Party Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Kim Long, Dong Nai will continue in 2026 to strengthen three core pillars: synchronized infrastructure development centered on Long Thanh Airport; social welfare, with a focus on social housing linked to industrial and urban growth; stabilizing human resources for long-term development; and improvements in the business environment to sustain double-digit economic growth. These pillars are expected to underpin the province’s ambition to become a major growth pole both regionally and nationally.
Expectations for Dong Nai to become an important growth pole of the country
On March 24, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Kim Long signed Official Document No. 4534/UBND-KGVX, requesting departments, agencies, and localities to organize public consultations on the project to establish Dong Nai as a centrally-run city. This undertaking is seen as an important step in the roadmap to develop Dong Nai into a centrally governed urban area.
Accordingly, the People's Committees of communes and wards must organize broad-based consultations, ensuring openness and transparency. The consultation results must be compiled and reported to the Provincial People's Committee through the Department of Home Affairs by 5 p.m. on March 26. If the approval rate exceeds 50% of the total population in the area, the locality will continue to finalize the dossier and submit it to the People's Council at the same level for consideration and issuance of a resolution in accordance with regulations. At the same time, Dong Nai province is also conducting consultations on the project to establish 10 wards, including Long Thanh, Nhon Trach, Trang Bom, Dau Giay, Xuan Loc, Tan Phu, Tri An, Dong Phu, Tan Khai, and Loc Ninh.
Le Tan Thao, a resident of Tran Bien ward, Dong Nai province, shared: With its strategic location and a series of important transport infrastructure projects being implemented, Dong Nai becoming a centrally governed city will be an important basis for the province to unlock its full potential and advantages, accelerate development in the coming period.
Earlier, on March 23, 2026, the Office of the Party Central Committee issued Document No. 1184-CV/VPTW conveying the Politburo's opinion on the project for the Construction and Development of Dong Nai until 2035, with a vision to 2065. Under the document, the Standing Committee of the Government's Party Committee was assigned to take the lead, in coordination with the National Assembly Party Committee’s Standing Board, in directing relevant agencies to urgently review Dong Nai province's proposal dossier and promptly submit it to the Central Party Committee for approval so that it can be presented to the National Assembly for the issuance of a Resolution on the establishment of Dong Nai city in 2026 in accordance with regulations to meet socio-economic development requirements and create momentum for linked development with major national economic centers. The plan also calls for a review and comprehensive assessment of localities after one year of merger; if they meet the prescribed conditions, a report will be submitted to competent authorities for an upgrade to urban government (city/ward).
Dong Nai meets the criteria for a centrally-run city
Following the merger, based on the standards of a centrally-run city specified in Article 4 of Resolution No. 112/2025/UBTVQH15, dated December 24, 2025, of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the standards of administrative units, through review and comparison with the prescribed criteria, Dong Nai province basically meets all 7/7 standards of a centrally-run city. Accordingly, Dong Nai province has a large-scale development, the ability to balance its budget, a modern economic structure, a strategic location, a central role in regional connectivity, a clearly emerging dynamic infrastructure system, and huge urban development potential in the coming period.
The areas that still require further completion under the first-class urban standards are mainly three technical component criteria reflecting the level of completion in the transitional development phase, including: the capacity to host an average of two or more regional-level international events over the past three years; the proportion of wards reaching second-class urban criteria; and the criterion on sustainable urban development toward smart cities, with enhanced resilience and adaptation to climate change. These are not foundational criteria regarding population, area, location, function, economic structure, budget self-balancing capacity, or the role of regional connectivity; therefore, they do not alter the fact that Dong Nai has already met all the core conditions for a centrally governed urban area.
In 2025, Dong Nai’s economy reached over VND 677 trillion, ranking fourth nationwide, with per capita GRDP at approximately VND 150.86 million.
In particular, Clause 6, Article 12 of Resolution No. 112/2025/UBTVQH15 stipulates that in cases where there is a special requirement for territorial management, national sovereignty protection, or socio-economic development, creating a driving force for linked development with major national economic centers in line with the orientation of competent authorities, an administrative unit may be established without applying the standards specified in Chapter I of the resolution. With Dong Nai's characteristics of having a land border, being a key area for national defense and security, and also a connectivity hub for the southern development corridor associated with Long Thanh Airport and strategic transport axes, the consideration of establishing Dong Nai as a centrally governed city has full political, legal, and practical justification.
On the other hand, if approved by the Central Party Committee approves the establishment of Dong Nai city, Dong Nai will have a strong political and legal basis to concentrate resources, accelerate planning adjustments, upgrade urban areas, complete technical infrastructure, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure, and reorganize the urban administrative unit system according to a strict, feasible roadmap with clear timelines, deliverables, and monitoring mechanisms.
By Pham Tung – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho
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