A vast new stadium planned for southern Hanoi could become one of the world’s largest sporting arenas, with a proposed capacity of 135,000 spectators.
Currently a round-the-clock construction site, Hung Vuong Stadium is expected to be completed by 2030. Developers say it will surpass India’s Narendra Modi Stadium by around 3,000 seats and rival North Korea’s Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, which is estimated to hold between 114,000 and 150,000 people.
ABOVE: artist’s impression of Hung Vuong Stadium, which takes inspiration from a Vietnamese drum
Developer Vingroup says the venue will feature the world’s largest retractable roof and form the centrepiece of a 925 trillion dong ($53 billion) Olympic-style sports precinct.
The wider development will include several stadiums and is planned as part of a new urban area designed to house up to 1.2 million people.
Originally named Lac Viet — after the ancient indigenous people of northern Vietnam — the project was later renamed Trong Dong to reflect its design inspiration from traditional Dong Son drums. In April, Vingroup announced the venue would instead be called Hung Vuong Stadium, honouring the founders of Vietnam’s first state.
The project is part of a broader infrastructure surge sweeping Vietnam. The country announced or began work on about 550 infrastructure projects in 2025 alone, with a combined value exceeding 5 quadrillion dong ($280 billion). That included 234 projects launched on a single day in December.
In April, construction began on Vietnam’s first high-speed rail line — a 120-kilometre route linking Hanoi and Ha Long — with trains expected to reach speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour.
Supporters say the line will reduce travel times from more than two hours to less than 30 minutes. The project is estimated to cost 157 trillion dong ($8.2 billion), excluding land acquisition.
