HCMC – The HCMC government has proposed the Ministry of Transport accelerate the execution of the Ring Road No. 4 project, which will pass through five localities—HCMC, Binh Duong, Long An, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The project, together with the Ring Road No. 3 project, have lagged behind schedule, putting pressure on five national highways; therefore, the city pushed for the quick execution of the project to boost the economic development of the southern key economic zone, according to the local media.
The city suggested the Ministry of Transport study dividing the project into phases, its scale, investment form and solutions to connect the road to key traffic routes.
The ministry should coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and other relevant ministries to consider allocating part of the State capital for the 2021-2025 period for the project as required by the prime minister.
According to the HCMC government, the Ring Road No. 4 project will help connect satellite urban areas in the city with other localities in the southern key economic zone, contributing to bolstering the region’s socioeconomic development.
Once in place, the road will help link key economic zones with Hiep Phuoc Port in HCMC, Long An Port in the province of the same name and Phu My Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with the Long Thanh International Airport, thus saving time and reducing logistics costs.
In addition to Ring Road No. 4, the city had earlier proposed the Ministry of Transport speed up the completion of the 89-kilometer Ring Road No. 3. Only a 16.3-kilometer section of the road in Binh Duong has been completed. The remaining sections require an estimated total investment of over VND60.68 trillion.
According to the HCMC Department of Transport, the Ring Road No. 4 project was supposed to be 198 kilometers long, have six to eight lanes and require an estimated cost of VND100 trillion. The project was divided into sections, of which only the Ben Luc-Hiep Phuoc section, which will have a length of 35.8 kilometers and an investment of VND20 trillion, has its prefeasibility report completed.
The prefeasibility study for the four remaining sections—Phu My-Trang Bom, Trang Bom-National Highway 13, National Highway 13- National Highway 22 and National Highway 22-Ben Luc—has yet to be conducted.
