Climate change is exposing HCMC, the south-central provinces, and the Mekong Delta to increasingly severe risk scenarios. The Saigon Times spoke with architect Truong Nam Thuan, CEO of the investment consulting firm Thien Nam Anh, to shed light on existing strategic and legal gaps. Drawing on in-depth analyses of natural disaster response planning, Thuan proposed redefining HCMC’s role — from a purely economic hub to a “lifebuoy” for the entire southern region. THREE VITAL CHALLENGES The Saigon Times: As natural disasters grow increasingly severe, it seems they are revealing gaps in the HCMC regional planning framework for dealing with such risks? Truong Nam Thuan: Amid accelerating climate change, areas across the region — particularly the former HCMC and former Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province — are facing mounting pressures from rising sea levels, seawater intrusion, unusually strong storms, riverside landslides, and the risk of overstressed infrastructure as population flows shift with economic cycles. The expanded HCMC area has absorbed large waves of migration from other parts of the country. According to the 2019 population census, about 710,000 people from the Mekong Delta had moved to the southeastern region, accounting for more than half of all domestic migrants. Including migration from the […]