Funding shortfall hits City highway

A project to upgrade and expand National Highway 13 has been delayed because the city lacks capital to speed up work, a senior transportation official says.

Meanwhile, many transport companies have complained that the delay is costing them money because of heavy traffic congestion.

The highway is the main road connecting HCM City and neighbouring Binh Duong Province, and it receives a large number of vehicles, including container trucks, everyday.

The upgrade and expansion project was initiated to deal with the heavy traffic congestion on the highway.

However, the city lacks capital for this project because the number of infrastructure projects being implemented in the city are stretching its finances, said Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transport.

Duong Quang Chau, deputy investment director of HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC, said the project included four sections.

In its first phase, it would upgrade the Binh Trieu 1 and 2 bridges. In the second, it would expand the highway section from the bridges to the Binh Phuoc intersection; construct a five-street intersection at the beginning of the highway; and expand the Nguyen Xi and Ung Van Khiem streets.

But the last three sections can be completed only if the Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts finished site clearance work, for which they needed VND5 trillion (US$256 million) from the city budget. The city has allocated the two districts just VND500 million ($26,000) each for the 2010 financial year.

Meanwhile, the highway has become much more crowded since many vehicles are transporting materials to feed industrial park and processing zone construction in Binh Duong.

Dinh Nam Dinh, deputy chairman of the HCM City Cargo Transport Association, said many transport companies were hit hard by the congestion. “A vehicle used to make two trips from HCM City to Binh Duong and back each day, but now it takes three days to do this,” he said.

Dang Duc Tiep, director of the Dang Tien Transport Company, said transport companies were suffering losses because cargo owners were levying fines for late delivery. The losses are huge when cargo from Binh Duong to HCM City is too late for marine shipment and we have to ship them by air, he said.

Cuong said capital for this project should be prioritised. The Department of Transport has so far attempted to reduce congestion on the highway by breaking up traffic in several directions, but such measures have not been sufficient to ease the problem. — VNS

Tags: National Highway No 13, Vietnam Infrastructure