Accelerating traffic, economic breakthrough in the south

A day earlier, four component projects (DA) with a total length of 188 km of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project simultaneously "heated up", starting the journey to pave the way for economic development in the Mekong Delta region after many years of being held back by infrastructure. At the same time, the project to upgrade and expand the coastal road from Ba Ria-Vung Tau (BR-VT) to Binh Thuan was also started.

Construction of Nhon Trach Bridge under the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project

A backbone and large construction sites stretching from North to South continue to be launched, expected to create a boost for Vietnam's economy in the second half of 2023.

The road of desire

According to the Government Office 's plan on organizing the groundbreaking of expressway and Ring Road 3 projects, the groundbreaking ceremony of the 3 Ring Road 3 projects in Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway and Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot Expressway Phase 1 today will be connected online from the main bridge point in Ho Chi Minh City to the bridges in Dak Lak and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces. At each bridge point, there will be 3 LED screens, including 1 LED light in the groundbreaking ceremony area, so that delegates can witness the groundbreaking ceremony at other bridges and ensure that all bridges perform the groundbreaking ceremony simultaneously at the same time. Yesterday (June 17), the groundbreaking ceremony of Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway Project was also held in person combined with online at four local bridges.

Today, a series of southern expressways simultaneously started construction, including Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway, Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway, and Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3. In the photo: Perspective of Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3

"The preparation work had to be very solemn and meticulous because these are all projects of great significance. It is not just a groundbreaking ceremony, this is a journey to lay the first brick for the roads of aspiration," Mr. Luong Minh Phuc, Director of the Management Board of Traffic Construction Investment Projects of Ho Chi Minh City (TCIP), the investor of the Ring Road 3 Project of Ho Chi Minh City, shared with Thanh Nien before the "G hour" of the groundbreaking of the projects.

Reviewing the 22 milestones of Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 from July 29, 2021 when the Ministry of Transport issued Official Dispatch No. 7770 handing over the project documents to Ho Chi Minh City to serve the investment preparation work until today (June 18) - the day Ring Road 3 officially started construction, Mr. Luong Minh Phuc could not hide his emotions and said that it was a difficult but emotional journey. This is a particularly important project for Ho Chi Minh City because it not only shortens the travel time between localities, the route also helps increase inter-regional connectivity to accelerate the development of industrial clusters, tourism services, rural urbanization along the route, connecting satellite cities of Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to the formation of a center in the direction of a multi-centered urban area.

Memorably, the preparation period for the Ring Road 3 project was also the time when the whole country was practicing social distancing to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The time was urgent because the goal was to submit the project to the National Assembly for approval by June 2022. From Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, chat groups were active all night, working on documents, submitting the project, giving comments, making edits... Everyone was infected with Covid-19, unable to speak, but still met and worked very enthusiastically. The process of completing the pre-feasibility study report, then planning the compensation and site clearance (GPMB) implementation of the project was also a series of days and months of meetings throughout the afternoon and evening.

In addition, the completion of the compensation plan for site clearance (phase 1) and ensuring the project's commencement on schedule after 1 year of striving is the result of the attention and support from the leaders of the Party, the National Assembly, the Government, the central ministries and branches, along with the close direction of the city's leaders, the steering committee, the command committees of the component projects... and the entire political system of the 4 localities that the project passes through. Especially the consensus and companionship of the people in the area implementing the project.

"Up to this point, it can be said that almost the whole of Ho Chi Minh City is joining hands to build Ring Road 3 in a very emotional way, not just a simple task. The project is not only a dream, an aspiration of Ho Chi Minh City for more than a decade but also a belief for the city's transport sector in the coming period. This is the first time Ho Chi Minh City has been assigned by the National Assembly and the Government to be the competent state agency to implement a national key project and the city has proven its achievements by innovating, approaching things in a new way, with a new mindset, a Ring Road 3 mindset, and aspiration for Ring Road 3. From here, the new approach will be replicated for other projects, and Ho Chi Minh City's transport sector will witness breakthroughs in the future," Mr. Luong Minh Phuc expected.

According to the investor, in order to complete the project by the end of 2025 as set out, after the groundbreaking ceremony, the investor and the units must continue to work together to overcome enormous difficulties and challenges, which are to achieve 100% of site clearance compensation work before December 31; ensure progress, quality, and construction safety on 47 km of Ring Road 3 through Ho Chi Minh City; solve the material problem well; coordinate synchronously with Long An, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong provinces in the process of implementing and completing the project.

The backbone traffic axis of the Southeast region is taking shape.

Equally excited, the people of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Dong Nai provinces have also spent 13 years waiting to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway today.

The reason for waiting is because currently, connecting traffic is a nightmare for vehicles that regularly travel through these two localities. BR-VT is located in the key economic region of the South and Southeast. This is the most vibrant economic region of the country, although the population accounts for only 18%, it contributes up to 50% of the total industrial production value, 36% of the total national budget revenue, 33% of the country's GDP. However, currently, the transportation of goods and passengers on the Ho Chi Minh City - Vung Tau corridor, connecting the key economic region of the South with the international gateway port of Vung Tau, is mainly by road transport via National Highway 51 and inland waterways. Not only the industry is affected, tourism in BR-VT is also seriously affected by traffic congestion. Tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces to Vung Tau mainly go through National Highway 51, facing continuous traffic jams, causing the number of visitors to Vung Tau to decrease significantly.

Similarly, Dong Nai is the capital of both industry and livestock, so the need for traffic connection to serve socio-economic development (SED) between the two localities and with Ho Chi Minh City is very large and very important. However, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay (HLD) expressway has long been a slow speed, trucks and containers from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau are "haunted" by Highway 51. Therefore, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway carries many goals and expectations.

According to the Vietnam Road Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway connects directly to the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port clusters, Long Thanh airport and the southern key economic zone. The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway cluster, after being completed as planned in 2025, will connect the HLD expressway, Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway (under construction), and the routes connecting to Long Thanh airport to form a backbone traffic axis to solve traffic congestion on National Highway 51. The travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Ba Ria-Vung Tau will be shortened, to only about

70 minutes instead of 150 minutes as at present. At the same time, the route will maximize the potential of Cai Mep - Thi Vai seaport, Long Thanh international airport, promoting socio-economic development of Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces in particular and the Southeast region in general.

A huge boost to economic breakthrough

From Dak Lak bridgehead, the groundbreaking ceremony of Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot Expressway Project Phase 1 also took place after busy days of preparation by the provincial People's Committee leaders. This expressway is considered a route connecting the forest with the sea, expected to form a horizontal axis connecting the Central Highlands with the South Central Coast, connecting vertical axes, promoting the effectiveness of the project that has been and is being invested. At the same time, it connects economic centers, seaports, meeting the transportation needs, the driving force for development of the Central Highlands and the South Central Coast.

"It has been a long time since the South Central region, especially the South, has witnessed such strong movements in transport infrastructure," Dr. Nguyen Huu Nguyen (Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association) shared.

According to Dr. Nguyen, for many years, the key economic region in the South, the Mekong Delta, has been somewhat "disadvantaged" compared to the northern provinces in terms of connecting traffic networks. The sluggish traffic infrastructure for many years has "tied down" the economy, slowing down the speed of urban formation and development. Therefore, the simultaneous commencement of key projects in the South and South Central regions is to realize the policy of strengthening the traffic network for the South and the West. This is the right direction that the National Assembly and the Government have also determined for a vision of sustainable and long-term development.

"These projects are even more meaningful when they are implemented at the right time when the economy of the locomotive city of Ho Chi Minh City as well as the whole country is going through difficulties. Large construction sites are starting to operate, which means that construction materials are mobilized simultaneously, workers and contractors have jobs simultaneously, the transportation system has orders simultaneously... Behind that is the logistics service team. Many other industries will be activated, like a very strong push to break through the economy", Dr. Nguyen Huu Nguyen commented.

Expanding the coastal road from BR-VT to Binh Thuan

BR-VT province completed the first coastal road from Vung Tau city to Xuyen Moc district in 2005. Resolution No. 24 dated October 7, 2022 of the Politburo on socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security in the Southeast region to 2030, with a vision to 2045, identified investment in completing the coastal road system through BR-VT province as one of the key tasks that the province needs to carry out. The BR-VT coastal road connecting Binh Thuan was started on June 17 with a total length of 76.86 km, passing through 5 districts, towns and cities: Phu My town, Vung Tau city and Long Dien, Dat Do, Xuyen Moc districts, with a total investment of over 6,500 billion VND.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Vinh , Vice Chairman of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial People's Committee

Nguyen Long (written)

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