SAMCO seeks bus hub partner

The new bus station will alleviate pressure on the existing bus station in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City

Early last week, Ho Chi Minh City authorities approved a detailed plan to build the new eastern bus station at a total cost of around VND4 trillion ($180 million), which would help ease overload at the existing bus station in the city’s eastern Binh Thanh district.

Under the plan, the 16-hectare station will be located on the border between District 9 and Di An town in Binh Duong province, and will boast a 26-storey building, a two-storey passenger terminal, a five-storey building for commodity trading and vehicle transit, as well as a 15-storey building with commercial and customer service areas.

The new station will connect to the new Metro Line 1 running from Ben Thanh market in District 1 to the Suoi Tien entertainment area in Thu Duc district. Upon project completion, passengers will be able to choose to take either the bus or the metro to the city centre, city outskirts, and neighbouring provinces.

Deputy marketing director of Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO) Nguyen Xuan Dien said “We will mobilise capital from the public, and capital from domestic and foreign investors, who might be allowed to lease the whole or a part of the customer service, commodity trading, and transit areas. The corporation is now seeking strategic partners who have both the capital and the relevant management and development experience to develop the project.”

He also noted that SAMCO was in discussions with Japan’s Tokyu Group as one of the potential investors. The corporation expected new partners to consult on the project implementation, as it has not yet selected a consultancy firm for the new project.

SAMCO plans to break ground on the project in April 2016, and is currently applying for a building permit to put up a wall around the construction site. As one of the satellite projects surrounding the Metro Line 1, the station is expected to be completed around the same time as the new railway.

Under the project plans, 31 households and five state companies would be relocated. The site clearance work is being carried out in both Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong to prevent delays. SAMCO is now urging one company to relocate to carry out the project on schedule.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the project will be an important traffic hub in the northeast gateway as well as one of the priority projects in the city’s transport development strategy. The new eastern coach station will help meet the rising demand for travel from Ho Chi Minh City to the northern and central provinces as well as reduce overload at the existing eastern bus station, which serves up to 50,000 people per day.

In September 2014, the city’s authorities also approved a plan to turn the current 60,200 square metres coach station into reconstructed urban areas. Zone A will therefore be maintained as a station for bus services to the city, while Zone B will be turned into a business and service centre for offices and hotels with modern facilities.