HCMC – HCMC and the Mekong Delta will work together to boost the implementation of major infrastructure projects to improve connectivity between the city and the delta.
The HCMC Transport Department held a seminar in Can Tho City on July 21 to discuss infrastructure projects that connect HCMC and the Mekong Delta.
According to the HCMC Transport Department, the seminar discussed key projects, including a railway linking HCMC and Can Tho City, waterway transport and a coastal road between the city and the Mekong Delta.
The construction of the rail line that links HCMC and Can Tho was high on the agenda of the seminar. The railway is projected to be 175.2 kilometers long, with 13 stations over six cities and provinces – Binh Duong, HCMC, Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Can Tho.
The public-private partnership project is estimated to cost nearly VND220 trillion. The State budget will go to compensation for site clearance, resettlement, and infrastructure, while funds raised by investors will be used to cover building material and equipment costs.
Le Tien Dung, director of the Can Tho Transport Department, said that the HCMC-CanTho railway should be accelerated, foreseeing its great benefits to the Mekong Delta. The project should be completed by 2030, he emphasized.
Other key points during the seminar included the coastal road connecting HCMC and the delta and a waterway transport link between HCMC and Can Tho, which are considered important for socio-economic growth and national defense and security.
Waterway development would help ease road traffic and tap the natural potential in the delta to enhance tourism development, while the southern coastal road will boost connectivity between HCMC and the coastal provinces in the Mekong Delta and make more land available for production.
Moreover, the construction of the coastal road and sea dykes can be used to relocate coastal populations to prevent damage from potential natural disasters and climate change.
