Extra $191m set aside for Dong Tay upgrade

Deputy chairman of HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai said the City would pour an additional VND 3.6 trillion (US$191 million) into the Dong Tay Boulevard and Water Environment Improvement projects.

Vuong Hoang Thanh, deputy director of the management board for the projects, said the additional capital increase was necessary because the cost of materials rose sharply in 2007-08.

Many projects have been added to the Dong Tay Boulevard project. The section of the boulevard in District 2 will now have 14 lanes instead of 10.

The project is funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency and being built by the HCM City People’s Committee.

Its total investment capital is VND9.86 trillion ($660.6 million), which has been used to restore and upgrade existing roads such as Ben Chuong Duong, Ham Tu and Tran Van Kieu.

The project is working on 21.8km of roads throughout the city. The surface of the roads is being expanded by 42-100 metres.

It will also build 15 new bridges, restore three existing bridges and build new pedestrian bridges.

Construction began in April 2005. The first stage of the project was completed in September last year, after 13.4km of road from District 1′s Calmette Bridge to Binh Chanh District’s 1A Highway had been improved.

The city’s Water Environment Improvement project hopes to combat environmental pollution in flood-prone areas in Thanh Da, Binh Thanh and in relevant canals.

The project has a total investment capital worth $4.16 trillion. Initially, the project was supposed to be finished in 2008.

However, by the end of 2008, the municipal People’s Committee asked the Prime Minister to adjust the date when the project would be finished. The project now hopes to be finished by August 2013.

According to the committee, difficulties concerning compensation and site clearance have slowed down the project’s progress. — VNS

Tags: the East-West Boulevard, Vietnam Infrastructure, Vietnam transportation