Will a series of key traffic projects ‘hanging’ for decades in Ho Chi Minh City soon revive?

In 2012, Ho Chi Minh City broke ground on the Binh Tien road and bridge construction project in the form of BT (build – transfer), with a total capital of 2,400 billion VND (later increased to 6,200 billion).

This project aims to solve congestion, open up travel at the southern gateway of the city and also create life-changing opportunities for thousands of households in this area.

However, more than a decade has passed, the project remains “unmoved” due to capital constraints and lack of land fund to pay investors. In addition, in 2018, when the Central Government advocated stopping the BT form, the Binh Tien bridge and road project also “froze”.

In the same situation, the section of National Highway 13 is nearly 5km long, from Binh Trieu 1 bridge to Binh Phuoc intersection (Thu Duc City), which is the main gateway to the Northeast of Ho Chi Minh City connecting with Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc provinces and other provinces. Central Highlands province; At the same time, it is a section connecting many major roads such as Pham Van Dong and National Highway 1, which is also the route leading to Mien Dong bus station.

Currently, the section through Binh Duong province has 8 lanes, while the section through Ho Chi Minh City has only 6 lanes, so there is overload, congestion as well as the potential risk of accidents because the strip cannot be built yet. Separating lanes for cars and motorbikes.

Since 2001, the above section of National Highway 13 has been a component of the Binh Trieu 2 road and bridge project, implemented in the BOT form. While looking for capital to deploy, Resolution 437/2017 issued by the National Assembly has the content of stopping BOT projects on existing roads.

At the western gateway, the section of National Highway 1 through Binh Chanh district, nearly 10km long, is also “suffocating” because of traffic pressure. The road section near the intersection with Vo Van Kiet Avenue to Long An has not been expanded compared to the remaining sections of National Highway 1 from Binh Tan to Thu Duc City when the cross section is only 19m, 6 lanes, and no median strip. between cars and motorbikes.

This vital national highway section of the Western gateway is proposed to be expanded to 52m with a total capital of 12,900 billion VND. According to the City Department of Transport, the need to expand is very urgent in the context of the route being overloaded, motorbikes having to mix with cars, which is very dangerous.

Also at the Northwest gateway, National Highway 22 (passing through Hoc Mon district) connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Tay Ninh province, Binh Duong and Moc Bai international border gate is also too cramped compared to current traffic needs. The section from An Suong to Hoc Mon intersection is usually congested during morning and afternoon rush hours, causing trouble for drivers and businesses.

Resolution 98 opens up capital sources for city infrastructure

According to Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam, previously, the city’s budget only met about 20% of traffic investment needs. This is the biggest obstacle that has caused projects to expand gateways in the city to “stand still” for many years due to lack of capital.

However, Resolution 98 passed by the National Assembly (August 1, 2023), allowing the implementation of projects in the form of BOT, has opened up great opportunities for the city to free up resources and develop infrastructure.

Although the city has up to 107 planned main roads that can deploy the BOT model under the new mechanism, in the immediate future, the Department of Transport selected 5 truly urgent projects to propose to the City People’s Committee for priority testing. previous point.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai said that Resolution 98 has gradually helped the city resolve many bottlenecks in investment, financial and budget management, urban areas, science and technology, and organization. organizational structure and operating mechanism of Thu Duc City.

Taking advantage of this, the city has issued a list of investment projects to build, upgrade, expand and modernize existing road works applying BOT contracts, including 5 projects to be implemented from now until 2028.

Specifically, the project to upgrade and expand National Highway 13 from Binh Trieu bridge to Binh Duong province border; Project to upgrade and expand National Highway 1 from Kinh Duong Vuong street to Long An province border; Project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 22 from An Suong intersection to Ring Road 3; Project to upgrade the North – South trunk road from Nguyen Van Linh street to Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway and Binh Tien road and bridge construction project from Pham Van Chi street to Nguyen Van Linh street.

According to Mr. Mai, these are projects implemented according to the specific and outstanding mechanisms and policies that Resolution 98 gave to the city.

Specifically, 5 projects implemented in the above form are estimated to have an investment capital of nearly 45,600 billion VND. In particular, three national highways 1, 13, 22 at the gateways will be expanded with a total cost of about 33,900 billion.

Mr. Mai said that after completing the selection procedure and signing contracts with investors, the city plans to start construction on the above projects at the end of 2025 or early 2026, completed after three years.

The city needs more than 8,100 billion VND to carry out preparation and site clearance for projects. After that, the total capital need for the projects is estimated at 36,400 billion VND, of which the participating budget is more than 16,700 billion VND, the remaining belongs to the investor.

“Resolution 98 allows the city to return to the BOT form, which has helped clear capital bottlenecks. This is the basis for the city to re-implement suspended projects due to lack of capital and new projects, helping to develop transport infrastructure, worthy of its potential and advantages,” Mr. Mai emphasized.

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