Gov’t earmarks $1.6b for road traffic safety

The Transport Development and Strategy Institute said VND34 trillion (US$1.6 billion) would be spent on infrastructure and technologies in the next five years to ensure road-traffic safety.

The money would go into 45 priority programmes, including VND32 trillion for infrastructure works and VND500 billion for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for traffic control, the agency, which belongs to the Ministry of Transport, said.

At a seminar on ensuring traffic safety in this decade and further held by the Ministry in Ha Noi on Friday where these figures were released, Ly Huy Tuan, head of the Institute, said the goals were to reduce accidents and socio-economic losses, and also create a healthy living environment.

The strategies will focus on developing infrastructure, improving traffic safety assessment systems, rebuilding accident-prone road sections, and road maintenance.

In a report, the World Health Organisation blames the relentless increase in accidents in Viet Nam on the boom in motorised means of land transport, rapid urban development, and inadequate infrastructure.

Speaking at the seminar, Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung said poor infrastructure and transport facilities and lack of awareness of road rules were the main causes of the increasing occurrence of accidents.

“Ensuring traffic safety is an urgent task for society now,” he said.

The transportation strategies indicate the Government’s determination to reduce accidents by 40 per cent by 2020.

A representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency said shortage of funds and personnel were the main hurdles to ensuring traffic safety in Viet Nam.

For 2016-20 the allocation for the programme will be VND6.5 trillion ($310 million), including VND4.2 trillion for infrastructure and VND500 billion for ITS. — VNS