HCMC, JICA look into ODA projects
By Kinh Luan - The Saigon Times Daily
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| HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan (R) and JICA regional deputy general director Mutsuya Mori talk about the ODA projects in the city during their meeting last week - Photo: Kinh Luan |
HCMC – HCMC and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have reviewed what has got in the way of Japan-funded projects so as to find ways to cope with it.
Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the city, told Mutsuya Mori, JICA regional deputy general director, at a meeting in the city last week that the city would need more capital for a metro project due to a stronger Japanese yen, and higher material, equipment and labor costs.
The city has prepared as sufficient reciprocal capital as required, VND3 trillion, for the first mass rapid transit rail line connecting Ben Thanh Market in commercial District 1 and Suoi Tien Park in outlying District 9, he said. And the money will be mostly used to pay land clearance compensation.
Quan and Mori also touched upon a new design for the Ben Thanh Central Station in District 1 and a proposed extension of the above subway. This extension is referred to as 3A.
“The Ben Thanh Central Station will be the convergence point of three other routes, so it should be larger and more advanced,” said Quan.
Both sides reviewed another important infrastructure project as well – the East- West Highway and Water Environment project.
Quan said the road linked two expressways, with one linking western HCMC and Trung Luong of Tien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta and the other joining eastern HCMC, and Dong Nai Province’s Long Thanh and Dau Giay.
For the Thu Thiem Tunnel under the Saigon River as part of the highway, Quan requested Japanese contractors to complete joining all the elements of the tunnel by September 23 so that it could be opened to traffic ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, said Quan.
Regarding the Binh Hung wastewater treatment plant in Binh Chanh District, also part of the East-West Highway and Water Environment project, Quan said this facility had become overloaded as the first-phase capacity was only 141,000 cubic meters a day.
“To raise the capacity to 460,000 cubic meters, we’re putting the next phase up for tender. Capital for a detailed design is made available, but we need extra funds to proceed with the capital enhancement plan,” said Quan.