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Start of Vietnam's first metro route
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With a total investment of up to US$ 2.4 billion, the construction of the No.1 metro route was launched on August 28. This is the first subway route in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam as a whole.
The work will be put into use in 2018. By design, this subway route is nearly 20 km long, passing through the districts of 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc of HCM City and Di An District of Binh Duong province. About 2.6 km will run underground (three stations) and more than 17 km (11 stations) will run on the ground.
The outstanding advantage of a subway is its ability to transport large numbers of passengers, up to hundreds of thousands of people each day. Ho Chi Minh City expects that this subway will help substantially reduce traffic congestion due to current overload of personal vehicles, especially the eastern area of the city, where every day tens of thousands of students travel.
The implementation of this subway is also expected to make strong influence on urban development along the route such as the districts of 2, 9, Thu Duc in HCM City and Di An Town in Binh Duong province.
In the future, this metro route can be extended to the city of Bien Hoa (Dong Nai) and connected to the inter-regional railway to Thu Dau Mot city (Binh Duong).
"Reviving" Saigon’s dirtiest canal after nearly two decades
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Being named the dirtiest canal in Saigon with slums on both sides, Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal has been "reborn" after nearly 20 years of reform. On August 18, the first phase of the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe sanitation project and the project to upgrade Hoang Sa and Truong Sa roads were inaugurated.
To clean the canal, since 1993, the city cleared thousands of slums on both sides and built two roads along. The project had a total investment capital of VND1.6 trillion (over $80 million) to make site clearance and resettlement for nearly 7,000 residents living along the canal, to dredge about 260,000 m3 of sediment, to build roads, to pave the pavements and to plant trees.
In 2003, the project continued with funding from international banks worth over $300 million to dredge mud; install sewers running along the canal to the wastewater treatment station.
When the project is put into operation, all waste water will not pour into the canal but to the sewer and then to the waste treatment plant. The Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal only receives rain water and water from the Saigon River, so its water has gradually become clean again.
Paving the way for ships of 70,000 tons into Ho Chi Minh City
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The Soai Rap dredging project with a capital of nearly VND2.8 trillion ($140 million) was launched in late November 2012 to accommodate large ships to Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to develop the city’s marine economy.
According to the project management board, the Soai Rap passage will be dredged to a depth of 9.5 m to ensure that vessels with tonnage of 30,000 tons, full load, and ships with tonnage of 50,000 tons, offload, are able to enter the Hiep Phuoc Port in Nha Be District.
The dredging length is 54 km, expected to be implemented in 14 months with a total investment of nearly VND2.8 trillion, using ODA from the Belgian government (over Eur70 million) and reciprocal capital of Ho Chi Minh City.
At present, ships from the East Sea to Ho Chi Minh City have to cross 85 km of passages. Dredging the Soai Rap passage for large vessels to go to Hiep Phuoc port will help the relocation of ports on the Saigon River from the inner city.
It is estimated that the volume of goods through Soai Rap in 2025 will reach about 120-150 million tonnes. Revenues brought by Soai Rap in the first 10 years (2015-2025) is estimated at VND580-720 trillion. Meanwhile, the cost of dredging, maintenance and repayment of the Belgian government’s loan in 10 years is only about VND4.8 trillion, less than 1 percent of total revenues.
Building Saigon 2 Bridge in the northeast gate
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The construction of this work began on April 14, with a capital of VND1.5 trillion ($75 million) and it is scheduled for completion in 2014. The new bridge is hoped to reduce the load on the existing Saigon Bridge and to relieve traffic congestion at the northeast gate of Ho Chi Minh City.
By design, Sai Gon 2 Bridge is only 3m from the current Saigon Bridge, with the length of 987 m and the width of 23.5 m), divided into six lanes and the pavement for pedestrians. The bridge is designed with a life expectancy of 100 years, subject to earthquake of level 7, allowing vehicles to run on the bridge with a speed of 80 km / h.
Inauguration of Rach Chiec Bridge 5 months early
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On July 10, the Rach Chiec Bridge with the total investment of more than VND1 trillion ($50 million) was inaugurated, months before schedule. This bridge was of great significance in the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign 37 years ago to liberate the South, reunite the country.
The new Rach Chiec has a total length of 736 m, a width of 48 m, with 10 lanes. The bridge was designed with a life expectancy of 100 years.
According to the Department of Transportation, the new Rach Chiec Bridge will help deal with traffic in the area.
Building two steel overpasses to reduce congestion
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| The Hang Xanh intersection. |
To tackle congestion at the Hang Xanh and Thu Duc intersections, Ho Chi Minh City has started the construction of two steel overpasses with a total investment capital of VND460 billion ($23 million). At the request of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, these two flyovers must be completed before the Lunar New Year 2013 (February 2013).
Compiled by Nam Nguyen
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