HCMC – The 200-kilometer Beltway No. 4 project, which will pass through HCMC, Binh Duong, Long An, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, will get off the ground in 2024 with an estimated investment of VND100 trillion.
The HCMC Department of Transport on May 23 sent the four other provinces a plan on the progress of this ring road project, the local media reported.
The ring road was designed to have six to eight lanes, and start in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and end at the Hiep Phuoc Port in HCMC. In the first phase, the entire site for the project will be cleared but the road will be developed to have four lanes first to meet the transport demand in the region.
The HCMC Department of Transport expected to complete the prefeasibility study for the project at the end of this year and get the approval for the investment in the project in March next year.
The selection of investors will be completed in mid-2024. The project will be built in three years and opened to traffic in late 2027.
To reach this progress, the five localities will need to review their planning; determine the needed land area and the number of affected households; and work out the compensation, resettlement and site clearance plans.
The local authorities will also study and propose policies to accelerate the progress of the project, such as building plans to hold tenders and approving the boundary of the project. To have enough capital for the project, they would have to issue bonds and make use of land along the road.
In September last year, the prime minister authorized the governments of the five localities to develop the sections of the beltway within their precincts.
Specifically, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau government would be responsible for developing the Phu My-Bau Can section with a length of some 18 kilometers, while Dong Nai would be in charge of the 45-kilometer Bau Can-Thu Bien Bridge section.
The government of Binh Duong Province was assigned to develop the Thu Bien Bridge-Saigon River section, which will have a length of some 49 kilometers, while HCMC is responsible for the Saigon River-Thay Cai Canal section stretching 17 kilometers.
The Long An government was tasked with the Thay Cai Canal-Hiep Phuoc section, with a length of 71 kilometers.
The Beltway No. 4 project will help enhance connectivity in the region, linking the Hiep Phuoc Port with the southern key economic zone and the Mekong Delta.