Private funds sought for two southern beltways

The Ministry of Transport and local authorities of the Southern Focal Economic Zone will seek to woo private investors into developing two key beltways in the region with total costs estimated at VND100 trillion, or some US$5.35 billion, an official said.

The two beltways are deemed vital for developing infrastructure as well as spurring economic growth in the region in the long term, said the source after a meeting on Tuesday on the topic.

At the meeting on Tuesday, the State-owned Transport Engineering Design Inc. in the South (TEDI South), an affiliate of the transport ministry, submitted the feasibility studies for the projects to build beltways No.3 and No. 4 to Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, said the official, who wanted to remain anonymous.

“Deputy PM Hai stressed the important role of the two beltways in the socio-economic development of HCMC and the southern economic zone as a whole. These two projects require a mammoth fund of VND100 trillion,” he said.

Therefore, Hai asked the transport ministry and relevant agencies to painstakingly find out feasible plans in mobilizing funds of different sources for carrying out the projects so as to lessen reliance on the State budget.

The deputy prime minister stressed the need to attract private participation via the investment forms of build-operate-transfer (BOT), build-transfer (BT) and public private partnership (PPP).

He also required the ministry and consultants to prioritize most important road sections for development, and suggested such works as the Tan Van-Nhon Trach intersection, the Ben Luc-Hiep Phuoc section and a road leading to the upcoming Long Thanh International Airport.

The two beltways in the southern economic zone are envisaged to link HCMC with other neighboring provinces to foster economic growth in the region. The southern zone encompasses HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An and Tay Ninh provinces.

As planned, the beltways will be built in the next six years, using both private funds and provincial budgets. These two beltways will fit in well with the existing and planned sea and river ports, inland waterways, airports and railways.

The beltway No.3 is a 90.6-kilometer road, which will connect the Ben Luc-Long Thanh road with the HCMC-Trung Luong expressways, passing through HCMC, Long An, Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces.

The beltway No. 4 is a 148-kilometer road, which will link HCMC with neighboring provinces’ satellite towns, including Trang Bom Town in Dong Nai Province, Thu Dau Mot Town in Binh Duong Province and Ben Luc Town in Long An Province.

Both beltways will have 10 traffic lanes, allowing vehicles to run at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour. These beltways should be completed in 2016 as scheduled.

Since 2005, the Government has approved the HCMC’s master plan to develop four beltway roads. The beltway No.2 and the inner beltway, also called beltway No.1, lie inside the city. The inner beltway starts from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, and passes through Tan Binh and Tan Phu districts to reach Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard, while the beltway No.2 connects Thu Duc District with the outlying district of Can Gio.

Tags: Vietnam transportation