Asynchronous transport system sparks worry
By Le Anh - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – The fact that the Belt Road No. 2 in HCMC cannot be completed on schedule may result in asynchronous transport system when several inter-provincial expressways linking to the city are put into use in late 2012.
This was a warning given at the review conference for the first six months held by the HCMC Department of Transport last Friday.
The Belt Road No. 2 plays an important role in limiting the volume of trucks traveling through downtown HCMC, which is planned for completion within this year. However, the two final sections of the road have yet to be executed.
Pham Van Vinh, CEO of Saigon Transports Project Management Co., said: “The city’s transport system is gradually perfected, forming a closed network, but the eastern section of the Belt Road No. 2 still hasn’t got going.”
In early this year, at the launching ceremony of the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway project, Le Manh Hung, director of the project, said the expressway section in HCMC will open to traffic in late 2012.
However, site clearance in the 4-km section connecting East-West Highway and HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway has yet to be carried out, as the project owner has not mobilized the necessary fund of nearly VND2 trillion.
Another section running from inter-provincial intersection 25B to Rach Chiec 2 Bridge is moving at a slow pace. Therefore, it is impossible to finish the project by the year’s end.
In addition, a section from An Lap Intersection to Nguyen Van Linh Street developed under the build-transfer (BT) format has not received land fund even though the deadline has passed.
The Belt Road No. 2 starts from Nguyen Van Linh Street, crossing Phu My Bridge to Binh Thai Intersection, then running along Go Dua Intersection to National Highway 1A, passing Tan Tao Intersection and returning to Nguyen Van Linh Street, closing a circle.