VietNamNet Bridge – The government of HCMC has told HCMC City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Co. (CII) to finish the expansion and upgrade of Hanoi Highway no later than June next year to facilitate traffic on this key route.

Vehicles are seen moving on Hanoi Highway. Travel demand on this road has increased rapidly but the road expansion project has been progressing slowly – Photo: Pham Thanh

The request was made at a meeting between leaders of HCMC and CII at the weekend. HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan told the meeting that the pace of the Hanoi Highway expansion project has been slow.

Work started on the project five years ago but the investor has not been able to complete the project due to site clearance problems.

According to a report of CII, this project includes 15.7 kilometers of road from the Saigon Bridge to the new Dong Nai Bridge. After five years of construction, it is around 47% complete.

The investor has not been able to begin work on the pavements and tree planting on the road section in parallel with Rach Chiec Bridge in District 2 due to site clearance delays.  Meanwhile, the road section in Thu Duc District has been stuck in an overlapping construction site of Metro Line No. 1 that connects downtown HCMC and Suoi Tien Park in District 9.

The investor said it would be allowed to resume construction there after concrete supports of the metro line have been built.

As many as 250 households living near the 9.8-kilometer-long road section in District 9 and 167 families near the road section in Binh Thang Ward of Di An Township in Binh Duong Province refused to move, thus affecting the project.

A source from CII said the company is seeking around VND1.4 trillion (US$64.3 million) for site clearance in Binh Duong Province.

However, HCMC chairman Quan said the city government has approved the site clearance mechanism for the project and CII’s duty is to put it on fast track.

Quan told the authorities of District 9 to help finish site clearance no later than September and urged CII to finish the project by the middle of next year to avoid cost overruns.

Hanoi Highway links HCMC and southeastern provinces and localities in the north. It has four lanes in each direction, but has failed to meet rising travel demand. Therefore, the city wants the road section from Saigon Bridge to Binh Thai Crossroads to be widened to 153.5 meters and the road section from Binh Thai Crossroads to Tan Van Intersection in Dong Nai Province to be 113.5 meters wide.

The build-operate-transfer (BOT) project has a total investment of over VND2.28 trillion, including some VND1.7 trillion for construction.

Entire major outer beltway planned for completion next year

Work on the entire the Tan Son Nhat-Binh Loi-outer beltway is scheduled for completion in May next year, according to information released during a fact-finding visit by HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan to the construction site of the project last week.

Quan looked into the construction tempo at the outer beltway section from Nguyen Thai Son Street to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

According to South Korea’s GS Group, the investor of the road project, the section from Nguyen Thai Son Street to Linh Xuan Intersection in Thu Duc District has been opened to traffic and connected to National Highway 1A.

Currently, 17 households residing next to the section from Nguyen Thai Son Street to Tan Son Nhat airport have yet to relocate as they demand higher site clearance compensation rates.

GS Group has had to develop the road section in parts and spent more time relocating a high-voltage power line as it could affect electricity supply to Tan Son Nhat airport.

The investor said 65% of the Hong Ha Street section running through Gia Dinh Park in Go Vap District has been finished and the whole street would be completed on July 31. Construction of Bach Dang Street is scheduled to begin in August and be completed in May next year if the affected families agree to move, and work on Go Dua Bridge will end in September.

Therefore, the investor expected the entire outer ring road to be ready in May next year.