VietNamNet Bridge – Party chief of HCMC Dinh La Thang and Department of Transport leaders met on December 13 to look into a number of solutions to coping with the worsening traffic situation in the city.

A traffic jam at rush hour in HCMC. Party chief of HCMC Dinh La Thang and Department of Transport leaders met on December 13 to find ways to reduce traffic congestion in the city –Photo: Thanh Hoa

Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the department, told the meeting that traffic jams are no longer uncommon in the city, especially at rush hour. Data of the department showed that this year has seen 27 traffic jams happening on roads leading to Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Cat Lai Port and some other places.

The department ascribed the worsening traffic congestion to the fast increase in vehicles. The city now has nearly 7.5 million motorcycles and 600,000 automobiles, up almost 6% from a year earlier. In addition, there are one million motorcycles and 60,000 automobiles registered in other provinces but in circulation in the city.

Meanwhile, available land for traffic infrastructure development is limited. The city will have 4,155 kilometers of road by the end of this year.

Traffic congestion has become chronic at An Phu Intersection in District 2, which is near Cat Lai Port, the city’s busiest port.

Dinh La Thang asked Mai Tuan Anh, general director of Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), whether motorbikes could be allowed to use an approach road to HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway to help congestion on nearby roads.

Tuan said the four-kilometer approach road was designed as an inner-city expressway, so motorcycles could use it. However, a road divider should be installed to separate lanes for automobiles and motorbikes.   

Parallel roads for the expressway have been constructed and motorbikes will be able to travel on these roads when they are complete.

Anh attributed severe congestion at An Phu Intersection to the lack of a flyover or a tunnel. He proposed building a tunnel there to reduce traffic jams.

He said that next year VEC would coordinate with the Transport Department to hand over the approach road to the latter for management.

To reduce vehicle traffic around Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Tan Binh District, Thang proposed reducing aircraft movements.

Do Tat Binh, deputy general director of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), said if the number of night and morning flights is increased, passenger traffic at rush hour could drop considerably. However, air tickets are often sold six months before departures, so flight adjustments will affect passengers.

SGT