Funding shortfall hits City highway

A plan to upgrade and expand National Highway 13, which connects HCM City with neighbouring Binh Duong Province, has been postponed due to a lack of capital. — VNA/VNS Photo Quach Lam

HCM CITY — A project to upgrade and expand National Highway 13 has been delayed because the city lacks capital to speed up work, a senior transportation official says.

Meanwhile, many transport companies have complained that the delay is costing them money because of heavy traffic congestion.

The highway is the main road connecting HCM City and neighbouring Binh Duong Province, and it receives a large number of vehicles, including container trucks, everyday.

The upgrade and expansion project was initiated to deal with the heavy traffic congestion on the highway.

However, the city lacks capital for this project because the number of infrastructure projects being implemented in the city are stretching its finances, said Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the city's Department of Transport.

Duong Quang Chau, deputy investment director of HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC, said the project included four sections.

In its first phase, it would upgrade the Binh Trieu 1 and 2 bridges. In the second, it would expand the highway section from the bridges to the Binh Phuoc intersection; construct a five-street intersection at the beginning of the highway; and expand the Nguyen Xi and Ung Van Khiem streets.

But the last three sections can be completed only if the Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts finished site clearance work, for which they needed VND5 trillion (US$256 million) from the city budget. The city has allocated the two districts just VND500 million ($26,000) each for the 2010 financial year.

Meanwhile, the highway has become much more crowded since many vehicles are transporting materials to feed industrial park and processing zone construction in Binh Duong.

Dinh Nam Dinh, deputy chairman of the HCM City Cargo Transport Association, said many transport companies were hit hard by the congestion. "A vehicle used to make two trips from HCM City to Binh Duong and back each day, but now it takes three days to do this," he said.

Dang Duc Tiep, director of the Dang Tien Transport Company, said transport companies were suffering losses because cargo owners were levying fines for late delivery. The losses are huge when cargo from Binh Duong to HCM City is too late for marine shipment and we have to ship them by air, he said.

Cuong said capital for this project should be prioritised. The Department of Transport has so far attempted to reduce congestion on the highway by breaking up traffic in several directions, but such measures have not been sufficient to ease the problem. — VNS

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Provincial gateways to ease traffic flow

HCM CITY — HCM City's gateways to provinces in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta as well as the central and northern regions are being expanded and upgraded to ease traffic jams and adapt to the needs of the Southern Key Economic Zone.

Since early this month, vehicles using the Sai Gon Bridge to access the Ha Noi Highway have enjoyed smoother traffic flow on the eight-lane highway.

At the Cat Lai T-junction (Ha Noi Highway – Inter-provincial Highway 25B), vehicles have been able to avoid traffic jams by using two branches of the Cat Lai flyover.

Vuong Hoang Thanh, deputy director of the management board for the East-West Highway Project as well as the HCM City Environmental Sanitation Project, said a stretch of the inter-provincial highway 25B (from Giong Oâng To Bridge to Cat Lai Traffic Intersection) had been expanded to 10 lanes, easing traffic flow to and from the Cat Lai Port.

According to Vu Kien Thiet, director of the Urban Transportation Management Unit No2, project investor for the Rach Chiec Bridge, two four-lane streets bypassing it will be finished by the end of this year.

The company would then construct the new 10-land, 48m-wide Rach Chiec Bridge, Thiet said.

Nearby, a new Suoi Cai Bridge will be constructed with 10 lanes.

The stretch of Ha Noi Highway that runs from the Rach Chiec Bridge to the Binh Thai Intersection has been expanded to 12 lanes.

The highway has been also enlarged into 10 lanes at the stretch that runs between the Binh Thai and Thu Duc intersections.

Duong Quang Chau, deputy investment director of the HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII), said the project expanding Ha Noi Highway from 4-6 lanes to 14-18 lanes was expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

The Ha Noi Highway has become a huge construction site with the Thu Duc Traffic Intersection project, Binh Thai Traffic Intersection project (both having flyovers across the Ha Noi Highway), and the Rach Chiec Bridge (District 9).

Besides, the Sai Gon 2 Bridge will soon be constructed parallel to the recently renovated Sai Gon Bridge.

Towards the Delta

Since last Tet (lunar New Year), the HCM City – Trung Luong Highway, has shortened trips to Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces by an hour, and there has been a marked reduction in traffic accidents and jams on Highway No1A (which runs from Binh Chanh District to Long An City).

According to Do Ngoc Dung, deputy general director of the My Thuan Project Management Unit, trips to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta will be even faster when the 2.2km and six-lane road connecting Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard and HCM City – Trung Luong Highway finish.

The new road is estimated to shorten the trip by 8km.

It now takes about 20 minutes to go from Ben Thanh Market along Pho Duc Chinh Street and the East-West Highway to get to National Highway No1A (Binh Chanh District).

The National Highway No1A has become "clearer" since the East-West Highway opened flyovers for cars and pedestrians.

The My Thuan Project Management Unit is considering building a road that connects East-West Highway and HCM City – Trung Luong Highway.

When finish, it will take 30 minutes for vehicles from District 2 through Thu Thiem Tunnel and East-West Highway to get to HCM City – Trung Luong Highway.

Bus-drivers say passengers are now happier on the Truong Chinh Street-An Suong Flyover – National Highway 22 route to Cu Chi District and Tay Ninh Province.

Ever since a stretch of the Truong Chinh Street has been expanded to ten lanes, bus trips have become far more punctual.

However, the route still faces overloading and will be expanded further, says Nguyen Hong Ninh, director of Viet Nam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (IDICO).

This gateway will be expaned in coming years by constructing a four-lane flyover on National Highway No1A from Thu Duc District to the An Suong Intersection, and from An Suong Intersection along National Highway No22 to the Cu Chi flyover. The total cost of these constructions is estimated at VND19 trillion.

Meanwhile, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia (District 3) and Nguyen Van Troi (Phu Nhuan and Tan Binh Districts) streets have been expanded into six lanes, considerably easing traffic flow.

The expansion into six lanes of the Phan Dinh Giot Street which connects Nguyen Van Troi and Truong Son streets is underway.

Once the expansion is completed by the end of this year, traffic to the Tan Son Nhat Airport will become much smoother, experts say.

Construction of the Tan Son Nhi – Binh Loi route, which began in June 2008, is set for completion in 2012.

Residents of provinces located to the east of HCM City like Dong Nai and Ba Ria Vung Tau will then be able to reach the Tan Son Nhat Airport using this route, considerably easing traffic congestion concerns for about 15 million passengers every year. — VNS

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Funds sought for highway upgrade

Construction work on a section of the HCM Highway in Pleiku in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. Investment is being sought for upgrades to the highway. — VNA/VNS Photo Sy Huynh

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Transport is calling for investment in the third phase of a project to upgrade the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

According to the ministry, the capital sourced from the State budget accounts for only 20-30 per cent, which will be used for site clearance.

The project needs to seek capital from various different funding models between local and foreign investors, including Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Transfer (BT), Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) and others.

During the first phase (2000-07) of the project, the two-lane road was completed as well as other work to prevent landslides from occurring.

It runs from Ha Noi's Hoa Lac to Kon Tum Province's Tan Canh.

By the end of this year, the entire road from Cao Bang Province's Pac Bo and Ca Mau Province's Dat Mui Commune was expected to be completed and connected, and open to traffic.

However, work during the second phase (2007-10) has been delayed and the road will not be completed until the end of next year, according to the project management board.

The road, with a total length of 3,010 kilometres, begins at Pac Po Commemorative Zone in northern Cao Bang Province's Ha Quang District and ends in the southernmost province of Ca Mau in Ngoc Hien District.

The road has 25 sections with a total of 26 projects.

From now to 2015, three four-lane highway road sections will be built, including My An-Lo Te (76km with investment capital of VND18.5 trillion), Lo Te-Rach Soi (53.4km, VND6 trillion) and Cam Lo-Tuy Loan (182km, VND31 trillion).

From 2015-20, other highway sections will be built, including Kon Tum-Gia Lai-Dak Lak-Dac Nong (392 km, VND66.78 trillion), and Binh Ca-Son Tay-Cho Ben (143 km, VND18 trillion).

From 2020-25, highway sections will be built, including Chon Thanh-Duc Hoa-My An (160.4km, VND24,618 billion), Chon Thanh-Binh Phuoc intersection (63km, VND9.7 trillion) and Cay Chanh-Chon Thanh (102km, VND14.7 trillion).

From 2025 on, highway sections will be built, including Cho Ben-Khe Co (322km, VND38.7 trillion) and Khe Co -Cam Lo (282km, VND27.8 trillion).

In addition, other sections, with a total investment of VND30,919 billion, will also be completed or upgraded during this period.

The total investment capital for the third phase is estimated at around VND286.9 trillion (US$14.7 billion), according to the project management board.

In addition, during this phase, 54 roads will be upgraded that connect the road with the National Road 1A and many large seaports, with a total length of 2,608 km and a total investment of over VND54.5 trillion ($2.8 billion).

The detailed planning for building and upgrading the Ho Chi Minh Highway, which was approved by the Ministry of Transport, is awaiting Government approval, according to Pham Hong Son, general director of the project management board. — VNS

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