The development of modern urban railway systems, integrated with transit-oriented development (TOD), is central to Viet Nam’s efforts to build more sustainable infrastructure, improve urban productivity and connectivity, and advance its long-term ambition of becoming a developed, high-income country. This direction is increasingly reflected in a broad and progressively strengthening national and city-level policy framework. At the strategic level, Politburo resolutions on the development of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast Region have emphasised the City’s role as a national and regional growth engine and the importance of modern, integrated and sustainable urban infrastructure. This direction is further supported by the special mechanisms and policies for Ho Chi Minh City under National Assembly Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15 and National Assembly Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 on special mechanisms and policies for urban railway development in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
At the local level, the City is developing its regulatory framework for TOD planning and implementation and preparing a new comprehensive master plan with a 100-year vision. Together, these initiatives reflect the importance placed on establishing an increasingly comprehensive policy and planning framework for the City’s long-term development. This policy environment is particularly important as Ho Chi Minh City pursues a major expansion of its urban railway network alongside a multi-centred model of urban development. Achieving these ambitions will require not only significant investment in rail infrastructure, but also closer integration between transport and land-use planning, coordinated institutional arrangements, appropriate financing and land mechanisms, and practical guidance for implementation at the network, corridor and station-area levels.
The Ho Chi Minh City Transit-Oriented Development Technical Guidelines for Planning and Implementation provide a comprehensive framework to help translate these ambitions and emerging regulations into practice. The Guidelines set out step-by-step approaches covering TOD assessment and typologies, land-use planning, multimodal accessibility, urban design and public realm, climate resilience, environmental sustainability, gender equality, disability and social inclusion, and affordable and accessible housing. They also address financial strategies and land value capture, developer engagement and procurement, institutional responsibilities, capacity building, and monitoring and evaluation. The Guidelines form part of GCIEP’s broader partnership with Ho Chi Minh City on TOD. GCIEP’s support has progressed from assessing the City’s TOD context and implementation barriers to informing national and city-level policy development, strengthening institutional capabilities and preparing practical tools for implementation. This has included technical inputs related to National Assembly Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15, support for the City’s emerging TOD planning and implementation framework, earlier diagnostic and strategic studies, and workshops and knowledge exchanges with relevant City agencies and international experts.
Comprehensive, city-specific TOD implementation guidelines of this breadth remain relatively uncommon internationally. While a limited number of cities and jurisdictions have developed TOD policies, design guidance or station-area planning frameworks, these Guidelines bring together spatial planning, urban design, transport integration, financing, institutional coordination, implementation and monitoring within a single framework tailored to Ho Chi Minh City’s legal and development context. Ho Chi Minh City is the first city in Viet Nam to develop a comprehensive TOD Technical Guideline of this kind. The publication therefore represents an important step in moving TOD from high-level policy towards coordinated implementation and may offer useful lessons for other Vietnamese cities planning urban railway systems and exploring locally appropriate TOD approaches. The Guidelines are intended as a practical reference for policymakers and government agencies; planning, transport, land, finance and investment officials; private developers and investors; financial institutions; planning and design consultants; researchers; communities; and civil-society organisations involved in shaping and delivering TOD. Although developed specifically for Ho Chi Minh City, the principles, methodologies and practical tools contained in the Guidelines may also provide a useful reference for other cities in Viet Nam. Their application elsewhere should take account of differences in local regulations, institutional responsibilities and development conditions. The Guidelines should be treated as a living document. Ho Chi Minh City and its relevant agencies may update and refine them over time to reflect changes in the legal and regulatory framework, lessons from pilot projects, evolving delivery models and practical experience gained through wider TOD implementation.
The Guidelines were developed under GCIEP, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, by the PwC-led GCIEP Alliance (including Mott MacDonald, Adam Smith International, Engineers Against Poverty and MDY Legal), with Arup. GCIEP acknowledges the contributions of the Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City, relevant City departments and agencies, and the Vietnamese and international experts and advisors who contributed to the development and refinement of the Guidelines.