General Phan Van Giang: Dong Nai's location is strategically advantageous both economically and in terms of national defense.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van Giang, Dong Nai province currently meets all seven criteria to become a centrally-governed city, including very important criteria such as income, population, area, and geographical location.
In terms of location, the former Dong Nai province had no borders, but after the merger, the new Dong Nai province includes areas connected to Binh Phuoc, creating very advantageous positions, especially in the field of national defense and security.
General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense
PHOTO: GIA HAN
General Phan Van Giang cited the Loc Ninh area (Binh Phuoc province) as the first liberated area in the South. This was a gathering point for human resources, materials, and weapons and equipment in preparation for the campaign to completely liberate the South.
In addition, Dong Nai also has Long Thanh Airport. Previously, Long Thanh Airport was considered for dual-use purposes. However, currently, Bien Hoa Airport is being allocated resources to develop this dual-use function.
According to the general, Dong Nai has a very large Long Binh residential area, along with Tri An Lake… creating a solid defensive position.
Alongside national defense and security, Dong Nai also possesses significant economic advantages. Together with the former Binh Duong (now Ho Chi Minh City), these two localities have strongly developed industrial parks and export processing zones, thereby creating jobs for people from the Mekong Delta who were previously only engaged in agriculture and have migrated to this region.
General Phan Van Giang: Dong Nai's location is strategically advantageous both economically and in terms of national defense.
With the above factors in mind, General Phan Van Giang believes that Dong Nai has met the conditions to become a city, and he hopes the delegates will support this.
He emphasized that, if approved by the National Assembly, Dong Nai would be the seventh centrally-governed city after Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, and Hue.
Recently, the Politburo approved the plan to establish Quang Ninh city as a centrally-governed city. Therefore, establishing Dong Nai city as a centrally-governed city first will serve as a driving force and provide valuable experience for the future.
The majority of delegates supported the establishment of Dong Nai city as a centrally-governed city.
PHOTO: GIA HAN
Dong Nai needs a special "new look".
Delegate Nguyen Trung Kien (Dong Nai delegation), Deputy Director of the People's Security Academy, emphasized that Dong Nai is a large province with an area of over 12,000 km2 and a population of over 4.6 million people. It has 89 planned industrial zones, of which 50 are operational with tens of thousands of businesses, providing jobs for millions of workers.
Dong Nai's state budget revenue in 2025 is projected to reach nearly 110,000 billion VND, ranking 4th nationwide after Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Hai Phong.
Furthermore, Dong Nai's major advantage is its position as a regional hub connecting Ho Chi Minh City, the Southwest region, the Central Highlands, and the South Central region. It boasts a comprehensive range of transportation options, including the Long Thanh airport, a world-class airport that, once operational, will serve as a logistics center for transporting goods and international passengers to Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Dong Nai also serves as a hub connecting numerous expressways and national highways, with international road connections to Cambodia via the Hoa Lu International Border Gate and the Hoang Dieu Border Gate along National Highway 13. It also boasts a waterway system with many large rivers, facilitating inland water transport and access to the sea…
Given these advantages, establishing Dong Nai city as a centrally-governed city is entirely logical, thereby creating further impetus and momentum for the locality to achieve double-digit growth targets in this term and the years to come.
Besides establishing the city, Mr. Kien also proposed that the National Assembly pass a resolution granting Dong Nai city a number of special mechanisms to enable strong development in socio-economic aspects, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, culture, environment, health, education, urban planning, and investment attraction.
Sharing the same view, delegate Trinh Xuan An (Dong Nai delegation) said that the establishment of Dong Nai city directly under the central government is very good, but how it will develop in the future is also a very important issue.
He suggested that special mechanisms are needed for the city's strong development. The resolution should stipulate that, in addition to the current policies applied to Dong Nai province, more breakthrough mechanisms should be developed in the future, giving the city a more special "new look" for the future.