HCM City plans 70 transport projects

HCM City’s Department of Transport expects to start construction of 70 transport projects this year, including 45 road upgrades and expansions, and 23 new bridge projects.(Photo: VNA)

Nguyen Van Toan, head of the department’s planning and investment division, said the city would shorten the investment preparation time and propose more policies to attract investors.

Of the 70 projects, 45 of them will involve the upgrading and expansion of roads, and 23 will be new bridges.

District 9 will have the most bridge projects, with a total of six including the overpass bridge in the new Eastern Bus Station, and bridges Chum Chup, Lap, Lang, Ong Bon and Vam Xuong.

In addition, the department and other city units are working on a 59km section of the southern intercity expressway with 10 lanes, connecting Ben Luc, Nhon Trach and Long Thanh districts.

The department will also start the Mai Chi Tho tunnel and Luong Dinh Cua overpass bridge project in District 2, an interchange at a traffic-clogged area in Nguyen Van Linh and Nguyen Huu Cua Street in District 7, a parallel road along the HCM City- Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway and a two-way overpass at the Bon Xa intersection in Binh Tan district.

The city department has sent a report to the Government on the Belt Ring Road No3 project, which will connect HCM City and Binh Duong and Long An provinces.

The investment will come from a public-private partnership (PPP) with a total of 19.8 trillion VND (853 million USD), including 10.1 trillion VND (437 million USD) from the State budget and the rest from private capital.

The project will be divided into two phases. For the first phase, a 24.5m wide section of road with four lanes will be built. The second phase will be widened from 67 to 74.5m with six to eight lanes for vehicles with a maximum speed of 100km per hour.

From 2019 to 2022 the department will complete technical design and land clearance. During this time, it will also choose the builder for the project.

The project is expected to be put into use in 2025.

The department this year is focusing on generating more funds from the private sector for transport projects. The city will seek private funds for an upgrade of National Route No 1A and No 22.

Recently, the city’s People Committee directed the department to examine the investment plan of the transport projects in the form of build and transfer (BT) instead of the current form of build-operate-transfer (BOT).

The department has directed the BOT builder of the National Route No1A project (from An Lac district to Long An province) to change the form of investment to BT. The builder will consider the plan and inform the city People’s Committee.

Nguyen Van Tam, deputy director of the city department, said the city would organise bidding for transport projects invested in the form of BT.

According to transport experts, private investment must be sought by the city for these projects. To ensure the interest of all parties and fast implementation, the right kind of investment must be chosen.