Thu Thiem’s New Face: First Phase

Thu Thiem’s New Face: First Phase

By Dr. Ngo Viet Nam Son

The Thu Thiem Tunnei exit on the east bank of the Saigon Hotel

Although HCMC authorities have attached great importance to the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, its development pace has fallen short of expectations. Some ascribed the tardiness to the capital shortfall due to the global economic downturn. However, the fact that one high-rise after another has mushroomed in the existing central business district (CBD) since 2003 shows that capital may not be the biggest stumbling block.

Considering China’s Pudong and other new urban centers around the globe, it could be said that the main reasons for Thu Thiem’s slower-than-expected pace are the rigid vertical management mechanism and a lack of concerted efforts among related municipal authorities. Moreover, the development project has been heavily dependent upon capital allocated by the Government, and has to date failed to attract investment from the private sector.

Currently, besides urban designs provided by foreign consultants, authorities have yet to build their own urban economic design plan and implementation plan suitable to the overall situation, including investment attraction and capital rotation for each period of development.

Unclear policies on contribution to infrastructure development have also turned away the interest of investors who have always swooned over the existing downtown on the Saigon River’s west bank so that they would take advantage of facilities available on the spot. The dark side is heavier pressure has been exerted on the already overloaded infrastructure. Traffic congestion, flooding and other vexing urban problems would not have been so serious had Thu Thiem been on schedule.

Furthermore, Sasaki Associates, the consultant company, conducted the Thu Thiem study separately with no connection to the west bank plan which was carried out by Nikken Sekkei. So far, no plan has been built to efficiently link the two banks of the Saigon River. The construction of five bridges and a tunnel relates mostly to spontaneous efforts rather than a well-prepared scheme, in which Thu Thiem should be developed as an integral part of the entire project, particularly in relation with the expansion of the current CBD.

In need of effective connection

Consultants should be hired to establish the connection planning for the east and west banks of the entire city downtown area. Functional areas within the radius of 800-1,000 meters from the bridges and tunnel should be rearranged to guarantee the efficiency of traffic, land use and construction in terms of landscape, urban economy and investment efficiency.

Research on traffic connection from Thu Thiem 3 Bridge to East-West Highway should be conducted together with the traffic solutions and proper road sections (cutting through Ton Dan and Doan Van Bo streets, for instance) as backup plans for the future, to ensure smooth traffic in all cases. This is an important task since the two sides of East-West Highway have potentiality to grow into high-rise quarters with extremely high traffic density that allow no congestion.

The construction progress of public transport system on the two banks should also be taken into account in a reciprocal relationship which can help improve realty value and attract dwellers, thus luring investment in Thu Thiem and District 4. Areas adjacent to the Thu Thiem Tunnel ought to be prioritized to make full use of this area’s current investment attraction which is much higher than the already developed Thu Thiem 1 Bridge area.

While primary capital construction funds are still limited, spreading investment in the entire Thu Thiem area or around Thu Thiem 2 Bridge would be less efficient and attractive than focusing capital on infrastructure development in the neighborhood of the tunnel given that this area is more attractive.

Appropriate selection of location and strategy to develop and rotate capital during the first phase of the Thu Thiem project in line with the current city center would help achieve the most efficient investment and the strongest capital attraction. Therefore, authorities should choose area B, as seen on the map, and the neighboring area of Thu Thiem as the starting point of the first phase. This area is the most appealing to investors at present, thanks to its advantages of short distance to the downtown area, beautiful view on the riverside and the city downtown, convenient traffic to both the east and west of the city, and cheaper land prices than the existing downtown area but with high possibility of rising after infrastructure is completed.

Several main streets should be developed in area B or the neighborhood with sufficient infrastructure ready for construction. Investment capital would be quickly returned through the land price surges after infrastructure is available (thus capital can be either sourced from the Government or mobilized from the private sector), and power and water systems are easier to connect to those along the East-West Highway at low costs.

Also, bus transits could be built to link the existing downtown center (especially the triangle of Nguyen Hue, Ham Nghi and Le Loi streets and the public transport center at Ben Thanh Market) to the routes serving the developed areas in the first phase. The bus center on the east bank could later become the transport center for bus and subway lines.

This scenario is expected to encourage citizens in developed areas in the first phase to use public transport means to travel to the city center on working or entertaining purposes. Unused land surfaces could be utilized commercially as parking lots for passers-by from the East-West Highway, which offers a less costly option than driving to the existing downtown. Such a plan can thus help earn additional income for developing the east bank, and reduce traffic density. Moreover, in line with the chosen development scenario, the bus route network can be extended to the expanded downtown area in District 4.

The success of the first phase is decisive to the development of the neighborhood of Thu Thiem New Urban Area because it will give a facelift to a rapidly growing quarter and be the catalyst for the development of the neighborhoods. Spurred by quick capital return via realty investment, capital rotation will be accelerated for further development without waiting for State funds.