Danang positioned as crucial economic hub for Central Vietnam

Danang positioned as crucial economic hub for Central Vietnam

A new development space combined with an international financial hub and free trade zone, supported by special mechanisms, is expected to become a powerful launchpad shaping the central city of Danang into a future megacity.

Danang is a pivotal part of the country’s new strategy to build financial hubs

At a consultation workshop on the master plan for Danang to 2045 organised by the city’s People’s Committee in late January, experts proposed and discussed the concept of a megacity for Danang.

The master plan outlines a new and innovative development scenario. The future Danang is positioned as a comprehensive region encompassing coastal areas, plains, midlands, mountainous zones and border areas, bringing together diverse natural ecosystems and cultural heritage. The consulting unit noted that the potential merger of Quang Nam province with Danang would open a new chapter for the city’s urban scale and stature.

Under this scenario, Danang would evolve into a megacity with diverse geography and functions: featuring both a seaport and an international airport, industrial and high-tech zones, mountainous areas, and an international border gate connecting to Laos. These advantages are seen as a solid foundation for developing the marine economy, logistics, smart agriculture, and ecotourism.

The overall objective is to build an integrated Danang into an international coastal city, a hub for innovation and finance, serving as a growth engine for the Central and Central Highlands regions, and a key pillar for the nation.

In terms of population, forecasts estimate that the city will reach approximately 3.9 million residents by 2030 and about 6.4 million by 2045.

The establishment and operation of the Danang international financial centre (IFC) is expected not only to create new momentum for urban economic development, enhance competitiveness and international integration, but also to affirm Danang’s long-term and consistent vision for sustainable development.

At the beginning of 2026, Danang officially put its IFC into operation. This event represents a concrete step in implementing the national policy of building the city into a major socioeconomic centre of the country and the region, with strong spillover and growth-driving effects.

The IFC is expected to create new development space for the city, enhancing national competitiveness and gradually asserting Vietnam’s position in regional and international financial networks.

Danang People’s Committee has submitted a document to the Ministry of Finance regarding the development of a strategy for the city’s IFC.

According to Dang Dinh Duc, standing vice chairman of the IFC’s Executive Authority, it aims to become a centre for experimentation and trading in digital finance within the Asia–Pacific financial network, specialising in asset digitalisation and the provision of green finance solutions and next-generation supply chain financing.

The development goal is to become a hub oriented towards innovation and green finance, operating safely and efficiently, and playing an important role in mobilising and allocating financial resources for socioeconomic development and regional financial integration.

By 2030, Danang targets the hub to reach stable operations with more than 100 registered and recognised members, achieve partial financial self-sufficiency for recurrent expenditures, launch three sandbox programmes, issue its first green bond, and establish official cooperation with at least five IFCs worldwide.

Ho Ky Minh, Standing Vice Chairman of Danang People’s Committee and chairman of the Executive Authority, said it is committed to focusing on key orientations and tasks.

“We are committed to decisive and responsible action, directly overseeing the serious and effective implementation of all plans and action programmes of the government and the city related to the construction and development,” Minh stated.

Danang is currently addressing complexities related to projects and land issues identified in inspection conclusions, audits, and court judgments in several cities and provinces, along with National Assembly measures that aim to unlock important resources and economic growth.

One of the city’s significant achievements during the 2020–2025 term was the concretisation of Resolution No.136/2024/QH15 on the organisation of urban authority and the pilot implementation of special mechanisms for Danang’s development. In December, Resolution No.259/2025/QH15 amended several provisions of Resolution 136, which has further facilitated the city’s efforts to unlock resources and promote the city’s economic growth in the coming period.

Such policies issued for Danang have created a more open and favourable investment environment, attracting major corporations to explore and invest in strategic sectors such as high-tech industries, semiconductor microchips, and human resource training, in order to stay ahead of international economic integration trends.

At the same time, a vision for more sci-tech development and innovation has provided a strong foundation for the central city to achieve new breakthroughs in key sci-tech fields.

VIR