Vung Tau: New strategic logistics - tourism center of Ho Chi Minh City

After merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City not only expanded its administrative boundaries, but also opened up breakthrough development opportunities. In particular, the vibrant coastal city of Vung Tau will be a strategic link in the new regional structure: logistics center, seaport and high-end tourism.

High-rise towers will provide high-quality accommodation for Vung Tau tourism

From regional strategy to the vision of “new Shanghai”

Vietnam is accelerating the implementation of its regional development strategy, aiming to form globally competitive megacities. With the proposal to expand its administrative boundaries through the merger of Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and part of Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City is gradually forming a megacity of nearly 14 million people, with a total area of ​​over 6,700 km2. This is a strategic step to create a "megacity" with regional and international influence - equivalent to the scale of Shanghai (China) and much larger than Singapore or Bangkok.

With the available advantages, the prospect of developing Vung Tau into a high-end economic - logistics - sea tourism center is no longer on paper, when strategic projects are being promoted. In particular, the presence ofSun Group with the Blanca City mega-project stands out.

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City will integrate both the industrial-logistics ecosystem of Binh Duong and the sea-tourism corridor of Vung Tau. The urban structure following the multi-center model will help Ho Chi Minh City develop in a balanced way, in which Vung Tau becomes the gateway for logistics and sea tourism, Binh Duong is the industrial center, and the existing Ho Chi Minh City is the financial and technological center.

The similarity with Shanghai is even more evident when looking at the region’s infrastructure development potential. With Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port oriented to become an international transit hub and a dense network of highways, airports, and railways, Vung Tau is fully qualified to become one of the strategic gateways of Southeast Asia, contributing to repositioning Vietnam’s maritime economic position.

Vung Tau becomes the sea tourism gateway of the new Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Provincial Information Portal)

Vung Tau and its central role in the new development strategy

At many recent meetings, General Secretary To Lam has emphasized the need to develop Ho Chi Minh City to be worthy of its role as an economic locomotive, especially in the context of expanding administrative boundaries. In particular, urban areas such as Vung Tau need to be positioned as pillars of parallel development.

“The merger is to create new dynamism, new potential, and new development space,” the General Secretary emphasized.

According to the Southeast region strategy, Vung Tau is identified as the “sea gateway” of Ho Chi Minh City, playing the role of international cargo transit and welcoming both domestic and international tourists. Currently, Vung Tau is connected to Ho Chi Minh City via National Highway 51 and the Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway. The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway, nearly 54 km long, is expected to be completed in 2026, and will shorten the travel time to Long Thanh airport and from Ho Chi Minh City to only about 70 minutes, instead of nearly 2 hours as at present.

Notably, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway worth 6.1 billion USD is being proposed for investment, with a design speed of 160 km/h, directly connecting Cai Mep - Thi Vai port. This system promises to form a multimodal transport network, improving logistics capacity for the entire region.

Cai Mep - Thi Vai Port is currently the largest deep-water port in Vietnam, ranked among the top 50 container ports in the world and the only port in the country that can receive ships traveling directly to Europe and America. With the goal of being in the Top 20 international transit ports by 2030, this port will be a lever to turn Vung Tau into a regional logistics center.

Along with logistics development, Vung Tau tourism industry is also taking the lead in new opportunities. Located only about 100 km from Ho Chi Minh City, this coastal city has long been a familiar weekend resort destination for people in the Southeast. However, to improve and attract long-term guests with higher spending, Vung Tau needs to strongly shift to developing high-end tourism products, large-scale resort - entertainment - commercial complexes, to attract high-spending guests and international visitors (when Long Thanh airport is completed).

Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway (Photo: Nam Anh)

Forming a high-end logistics - tourism center

With its existing advantages, the prospect of developing Vung Tau into a high-end economic - logistics - sea tourism center is no longer on paper, when strategic projects are being promoted. In particular, the presence of Sun Group with the Blanca City mega-project - an international-class resort - commercial - entertainment urban complex in Bai Sau, right on the main road 3/2 is prominent.

Blanca City has a scale of up to 96.6 hectares, a total investment of nearly 37,000 billion VND, owning a sea frontage of nearly 1 km - a rare remaining long-term sea frontage fund in Vung Tau. The project is not only an architectural symbol, but also a center to activate customer flow and cash flow when integrating a 5-star hotel system operated by an international brand, the largest sea trade center in Vietnam and Sun World Vung Tau water park with a scale of nearly 15 hectares. This is the first day and night entertainment complex in the area, with 20 games, including the world's first 10-lane water racing slide, a double wave pool with an area of ​​nearly 6,000 m2.

Not only a resort, Blanca City is also planned as an “all-in-one” model coastal urban area, integrating living - working - resort - entertainment. The synchronization between technical infrastructure and social infrastructure (schools, hospitals, culture...) contributes to meeting the needs of the international community, experts and high-class tourists.

The operation of international hotel, commercial and entertainment brands within the project will make Blanca City a must-see destination for high-end domestic and international tourists to Vung Tau. This will not only increase the number of visitors, but also increase the average spending - a key factor for sustainable tourism development.

The boost from connecting infrastructure, the attention of the Central Government and the wave of investment from "eagles" like Sun Group are laying the foundation for Vung Tau's transformation. Not only urban - tourism projects, Ba Ria - Vung Tau also proposed that Sun Group study and invest in many more strategic infrastructure projects, creating new development momentum such as the Ho Chi Minh City - Dong Nai - Vung Tau light rail line, the international hospital project and the large-scale sea square in Vung Tau City.

The expectation of Vung Tau becoming the leading logistics - tourism center of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region is no longer a distant prospect, but is gradually becoming more evident every day.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/vung-tau-trung-tam-logistics---du-lich-chien-luoc-moi-cua-tphcm-d309349.html