At the beginning of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City launched a large-scale sidewalk clearance campaign aimed at restoring urban order and reclaiming public space for pedestrians.
Around the same period, the city also planned to install electric motorbike battery swap cabinets on sidewalks, reflecting broader efforts to expand urban infrastructure for greener mobility.
The enforcement campaign is expected to run until February 21, 2026, the second day of the Tet holiday. While similar efforts have been carried out in the past, this latest round comes with broader changes.
Major sidewalk crackdown that “places citizens at the core”
On January 16, Ho Chi Minh City officially launched a citywide sidewalk enforcement campaign, with patrols and penalties targeting sidewalk encroachment
The campaign spans across all 168 wards and communes in the newly expanded city, including areas previously under Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau. It focuses on major roads and key public areas (including hospitals, schools, industrial parks, and bus stops) where sidewalk encroachment and informal street trading are common, often impacting urban order and traffic flow.
According to Colonel Nguyen Dinh Duong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Police, the campaign will “place citizens at the core”, which will first focus on communication and awareness-raising to encourage residents to voluntarily dismantle or relocate encroaching structures. However, the representative of Ho Chi Minh City Police also stressed that the process will be conducted transparently and openly, without avoidance or favouritism, while still ensuring a humane approach.
The city police have also recommended that local authorities should arrange appropriate locations for business activities and parking, to help residents secure more stable livelihoods and reduce the risk of reliance on sidewalks as a primary source of income.
According to local reports, police patrols have been carried out across central areas, including the former Binh Thanh District, Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street in Cho Lon Ward, An Lac Ward (old Binh Tan district) and An Khanh Ward (old District 2). Enforcement measures apply to shops along sidewalks, vending vehicles, and motorbikes parked on sidewalks or roadways, with fines ranging from VND 400,000 to VND 3 million.
Electric motorbike battery-swapping cabinets will be placed on the sidewalk
Around the same time, Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Construction announced that it would allow electric motorbike battery-swapping cabinets to be installed on sidewalks in January 2026, with eligible locations to be announced on its website.
Accordingly, the city will assign the private sector to develop and implement plans for the installation, operation and management of battery-swapping cabinets on sidewalks. Businesses in charge will be fully responsible for all the operational costs, and must have prior experience in battery-swapping infrastructure as well as sufficient financial capacity to deploy the system.
The cabinets are required to be compatible with multiple vehicle models.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has around 200 electric motorbike battery-swapping locations. Under the plan, the city aims to install 5,000 cabinets by March 2026 and 10,000 by June 2026.
Sidewalks at the crossroad: The cost of transition
Ho Chi Minh City currently has 100,000 electric motorbikes but only 200 fast-charging stations, which have not met the demand. Most users rely on charging at home or in rented houses, raising concerns about electrical and fire safety.
Battery-swapping cabinets have therefore gained support from both riders and experts, as they help shorten charging time, improve safety, and reduce conflicts in apartment complexes that lack dedicated charging facilities. As Ho Chi Minh City moves toward phasing out gasoline-powered motorbikes by 2028, this initiative marks a key transitional step in preparing the city for a wider adoption of electric vehicles.
However, clearing sidewalks also means to displace the sidewalk economy - which is the primary source of living for at least 20,000 sidewalk businesses and 25,000 informal workers in Ho Chi Minh City, according to data by the City’s Institute for Development Studies.
An analysis by VnExpress noted that the enforcement approaches are built around intensive, short-term crackdowns, that lack clear communication, and have limited evidence on a structural solution that addresses the livelihoods of those who depend on the sidewalk. Beyond the risk of repeating the familiar failure cycles that have seen in the previous campaign, it also suggests that the city is still in the early stage of preparing for the comprehensive change it aims to roll out.
The real challenge, then, is not whether battery-swapping infrastructure works, or the sidewalk is cleared to maintain urban order, but whether Ho Chi Minh City can manage a transition without leaving those most affected behind.
