HCM City looks to ODA for urban transport development

HCM City needs to access increased Official Development Assistance (ODA) as well as other capital sources for its urban transport development projects this year, according to the city People’s Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan.

Speaking at a meeting last Friday, Quan said HCM City would accord priority to implementing major transport projects this year.

He instructed the city’s Department of Transport and relevant agencies to make a detailed report on major transportation projects and submit it to the Prime Minister, requesting the latter to create conditions for the city to access ODA for large projects.

The use of ODA should focus on construction of ring roads, elevated roads, metro lines and waterways, he said.

The projects include the Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway to link with Rung Sac Road in Can Gio District, an elevated road starting from the Cha Ca Tomb area and running along Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal to Nguyen Huu Canh Street, and a road from the southern end of the Ba Chiem Bridge to the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park.

Quan also ordered the department to focus on accessing other capital sources like Government bonds as also investment forms like Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), and Build and Transfer (BT).

He said the city budget’s limited funds would be used to conduct research and surveys; and for designing important transport projects. A portion of the city budget could also be used for land clearance and relocation of displaced families, he added.

Tran Quang Phuong, the department director, said most major transport projects in the city were at different stages of implementation.

Three of the city’s six metro lines, which are part of the city’s transport network development plans until 2020, now had investors, Phuong said.

Feasibility studies on building three tram or monorail routes were also being conducted by Malaysian investors, he said

Construction of Ringroad No 2 was expected to finish in 2013 with only sections in districts 7, 9 and Thu Duc needing to be completed, he added.

While the city had carried out several measures to attract investment for transportation projects, it still faces some problems including the lack of a circular from the Ministry of Planning and Investment offering guidance on investment forms like BOT and BT.

However, the most challenging problem facing the city’s transport development plans is managing the rapidly increasing number of individual vehicles.

Quan said he had instructed the department to implement measures including collecting tolls from individual vehicles to limit their increase.

Satellite urban centres

The development of satellite urban centres needed to be boosted this year, focusing on Hiep Phuoc Port, Tay Bac, Nam Sai Gon and Dong Sai Gon urban areas, Quan said.

He asked the Department of Architecture to rearrange residential areas, industrial clusters, the city’s gateways, and accommodations for workers and students in such a way that facilitates economic development while preventing traffic congestion.

At the meeting, relevant department and other agencies reported on the progress made by several projects including flood prevention, relocation of schools and hospitals to outer areas, as well as relocation of illegal houses along canals.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam Infrastructure, Vietnam ODA for urban transport development, Vietnam transport development