Ho Chi Minh City discontinues roadway charge collections, drafts fresh management strategy
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is currently working on a new comprehensive management plan for sidewalk and roadway usage, aiming to restore urban order and comply with updated national traffic laws. The city has halted the issuance of new sidewalk usage permits and suspended the collection of usage fees as it develops this citywide strategy in collaboration with the HCMC Institute for Development Studies.
Key details of the plan include:
- Comprehensive Strategy: The new plan will manage all sidewalk and roadway usages, including vehicle parking, material transport, and waste collection.
- Account for Administrative Expansion: It will incorporate HCMC’s expanded boundaries following mergers with former Bình Dương and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces.
- Enforcement Focus: Local wards, such as Binh Tan Ward, have already started dismantling illegal sidewalk structures and have committed to increased patrols, routine, and surprise inspections of sidewalk and roadway violations like illegal vending and unauthorized parking.
- Pilot and Timeline: The draft plan is expected to be completed within 12 months from August 2025 and, once approved, piloted in selected central wards before wider implementation across the city.
This effort responds to previous inconsistent enforcement under the old system, which led to persistent violations and public dissatisfaction regarding fairness and transparency.
In just over a year, the city collected over VNĐ7 billion (US$275,000) from these activities. However, the suspension comes amid rising public frustration over pavement encroachment and motor vehicles using sidewalks.
Under Decision 32, issued in July 2023, the city began allowing commercial and cultural activities to temporarily use pavements for a fee starting in early 2024. However, the policy for legalising and organising sidewalk use has faced inconsistent enforcement, leading to persistent violations.
The upcoming framework aims to protect pedestrian rights while managing shared public space more effectively. Certain uses such as vehicle parking, material transport, and waste collection may still be reviewed under new guidelines. HCM City authorities have suspended the collection of pavement and roadway usage fees.
If approved, the plan will be piloted in selected central wards before being implemented more broadly across the city. The strategy will account for the city's expanded administrative boundaries following its merger with the former provinces of Bình Dương and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu. The new laws prohibit provincial-level governments from issuing their own regulations for using public walkways for business activities. The move is in response to the new Law on Roads and Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, which will take effect in 2025.
Public criticism over a lack of fairness and transparency has arisen due to ongoing obstruction and disorder in several areas. The Department of Construction is collaborating with the HCM City Institute for Development Studies to design this comprehensive, citywide strategy for managing sidewalk and roadway usage. The draft of the new management plan is expected to be completed within 12 months.
