Overpass project approved

The Ministry of Construction yesterday gave its stamp of approval to a 10-kilometre-long, four-lane overpass project from Vinh Tuy Bridge to Nga Tu So intersection in southwest of Ha Noi.

The plan will now be submitted to the Office of the Government for final approval.

The overpass, which would be built by Vincom Joint Stock Company, is aimed at solving traffic congestion in the area, said Deputy Minister Nguyen Dinh Toan.

Toan said it had been included in Ha Noi’s General Construction Planning. It had also been approved by the National Assessment Board and was awaiting prime ministerial approval.

The ministry said construction would have to follow regulations relating to the Law on Bidding as well as building plans covering Ring Road 2 running between the bridge and the intersection.

Chairman of Vincom management board Le Khac Hiep said the company would start detailed planning after the project was given the green light.

Hiep said it had enough financial resources to undertake the work.

The road from Vinh Tuy Bridge to Nga Tu So Intersection has been the scene of many traffic jams since its opening in September last year.

In March, the municipal Transport Department proposed building six flyovers costing a total of VND32 trillion (US$1.6 billion) to ease Ha Noi’s traffic congestion.

Department director Nguyen Quoc Hung said all roads in the city had been overloaded while it was difficult to implement land clearances to enable new roads to go ahead.

Hung said flyovers would be built at O Cho Dua-Voi Phuc on Ring Road 1, Vinh Tuy Bridge-Buoi on Ring Road 2, at Mai Dich-Thang Long Bridge, Ha Noi Station-Xa Dan-Pham Ngoc Thach-Road 70, Tran Duy Hung Street-West Lake, Giang Vo Street-Thanh Xuan District.

Pham Huu Son, general director of Transport Engineering Design Incorporate (TEDI) said the flyovers could resolve transport flow problems and that it would not cost much for land clearances.

However, the issue has drawn much concern from specialists who said that the construction could destroy the city’s urban landscape.

Head of Ha Noi Construction Planning Institute, La Thi Kim Ngan, agreed with the idea, but wondered about preserving the Old Quarter.

Tran Vu Duc, deputy director of the city’s Planing and Investment Department said the construction should be built on roads that had been overloaded. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Infrastructure