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Cai Mep Ha Free Trade Zone: what has been announced

Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee approved the Cai Mep Ha Free Trade Zone on 23 July 2026: a port-led zone of more than 4,170 hectares at Cai Mep, about 50 km from the city centre, planned in phases to beyond 2035. This page records what is public, what is not yet confirmed, and how we plan around it with you today.

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What is on the public record

Six facts, each with a dated public source. Anything not listed here is not yet confirmed, and we say so rather than fill the gap.

Approved by Decision 4560/QĐ-UBND

Signed on 23 July 2026 by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the decision approves the zone as reported by state press.

Over 4,170 hectares

The reported planning area in Tan Phuoc and Tan Hai wards.

Coastal, not downtown

About 50 km from the Ho Chi Minh City centre and about 25 km from Long Thanh International Airport, beside the Cai Mep port complex.

Three functional areas, eight sub-zones

Container terminals, a rail station, inland ports, an industrial park and a logistics centre are named in the published layout.

Managed by HEPZA

The Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority is named as the management body.

Phased to beyond 2035

Development is planned across 2026–2030, 2031–2035 and after 2035.

Where things stand

The approved plan covers more than 4,170 hectares in Tan Phuoc and Tan Hai wards, about 50 km from downtown Ho Chi Minh City and about 25 km from Long Thanh International Airport. It is organised into three functional areas and eight sub-zones, to be managed by HEPZA, and phased across 2026–2030, 2031–2035 and after 2035. The operating regime — customs treatment, incentives, tenant procedures — is not yet in the public record we hold.

Who should be watching Cai Mep Ha FTZ

The zone has an approved plan and a phased horizon that runs past 2035. It is a port-and-logistics proposition on the coast, not a city-centre address, and nothing on this page says it is open for business.

Worth monitoring if you are
  • Moving goods through Cai Mep–Thi Vai
  • Planning logistics or warehousing near a deep-water port
  • Running industrial production in the southern region
  • Working to a horizon of years, not months
  • Already trading in Vietnam and weighing a coastal site
  • Interested in the Long Thanh airport corridor
May need a different route today
  • Businesses that need an operating address now
  • Companies that need a downtown Ho Chi Minh City base
  • Setups that depend on incentives not yet published
  • Founders who need certainty on customs and tax treatment

What the zone is intended to support

Port and container terminals

The published plan places container terminals and inland ports inside the zone, alongside the existing Cai Mep port complex.

Logistics and rail

A logistics centre and the Cai Mep Ha station on the planned Bien Hoa–Vung Tau railway are part of the announced layout.

Industrial production

The southern Cai Mep industrial park sits within the zone’s functional structure.

Digital, green and circular priorities

The city has stated digital, green and circular-economy priorities for the zone’s development.

How Sonsoto helps while the zone takes shape

Monitoring and briefing

  • We track the zone’s official instruments as they are published
  • You receive a written note when the operating regime is confirmed
  • Every claim we pass on carries its source and date
  • No incentive or procedure is assumed before it is in force

Planning your route today

  • A written scope for the Vietnam routes that exist now
  • A comparison of a Ho Chi Minh City base with a coastal site
  • Entity and capital planning that can move into the zone later
  • A banking route prepared alongside the entity

Readiness for when it opens

  • A document file kept current for a future application
  • Activity definitions written to the announced functional areas
  • A checkpoint review at each published phase
  • One specialist across formation, banking and compliance

The published phasing

  1. 1

    23 July 2026

    Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Decision No. 4560/QĐ-UBND approves the Cai Mep Ha Free Trade Zone: over 4,170 hectares in Tan Phuoc and Tan Hai wards, three functional areas and eight sub-zones, managed by HEPZA.

  2. 2

    2026–2030

    First development phase in the approved plan.

  3. 3

    2031–2035

    Second development phase in the approved plan.

  4. 4

    After 2035

    Long-term phase in the approved plan.

  5. 5

    Not yet published

    Customs regime, incentives and tenant procedures. We add them here with their source and date once they are in force.

Get a written scope

Cai Mep Ha FTZ and Da Nang FTZ side by side

Two zones at different stages, on the public record as of September 2026.

Feature
Establishing instrumentDecision No. 4560/QĐ-UBND (HCMC People’s Committee)Decision No. 1142/QĐ-TTg (Prime Minister)
Date23 July 202613 June 2025
Reported areaOver 4,170 haAbout 1,881 ha
LocationTan Phuoc and Tan Hai wards, about 50 km from downtown HCMCSeven locations across Da Nang
Announced focusPort, logistics, industry and services, with digital, green and circular prioritiesProduction and logistics, trade and services, digital technology and innovation
Management bodyHEPZA (as reported)Da Nang authorities (as reported)
Published phasing2026–2030, 2031–2035, after 2035First functional area under construction from August 2026
Operational statusNot yet operating (planning approved, July 2026)Not yet operating (as reported, July 2026)

Banking and capital accounts.

A foreign-owned entity needs a Direct Investment Capital Account before charter capital can be paid in, and the window is 90 days from licensing. We prepare the pack, coordinate with your chosen bank, and track the deadline.

Talk to a specialist

Planning around a zone that is still being built?

Tell us the activity and the horizon. We scope the Vietnam route that exists today and keep the Cai Mep Ha Free Trade Zone in view as its operating regime is published.

  • A dedicated specialist reviews your case.
  • Fixed scope in writing before any work begins.
  • Avg reply 3 minutes on WhatsApp, 24 × 7.

Request a consultation

No obligation. We tell you if it is not the right route.

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Frequently asked

Is Cai Mep Ha Free Trade Zone in Ho Chi Minh City?
Administratively, yes: it sits in Tan Phuoc and Tan Hai wards of Ho Chi Minh City, beside the Cai Mep port complex. Geographically it is about 50 km from the city centre and about 25 km from Long Thanh International Airport. It is a coastal port-and-logistics zone, not a downtown address.
Is the zone open for business?
Not on the record we hold. The People’s Committee approved the zone on 23 July 2026 with development phased across 2026–2030, 2031–2035 and after 2035. We update this page when tenant procedures are announced.
What incentives does the zone offer?
We do not publish incentives that are not yet in force. The establishing decision sets the zone’s functions and locations; the detailed regime is not in the public record we hold. When it is, it will appear here with its source and date.
Can Sonsoto set up my company in the zone now?
We can set up a company in Ho Chi Minh City or the southern region today under the routes that exist, and plan the structure so it can move into the zone when tenant procedures are published. We do not file for an address that cannot yet be taken.
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