The above activities are contributing to gradually clearing bottlenecks, taking advantage of opportunities and resources to develop Ho Chi Minh City's traffic infrastructure.

Traffic infrastructure still has many bottlenecks

Ho Chi Minh City's transport infrastructure has not developed commensurate with its potential and development requirements. Many projects under the planning approved by the Prime Minister many years ago are still stuck and delayed. The biggest bottleneck is the problem of mechanisms, policies, investment capital, site clearance, etc.

Comrade Phan Van Mai, Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said: The Government 's plan for 2020 is that the city will build 1-2 elevated roads and implement 2-3 metro lines. In road development, 6 expressways will be built connecting Ho Chi Minh City with other localities, with a total length of more than 350km.

However, projects implemented according to the plan encountered many obstacles and were behind schedule. Some projects were left unfinished due to problems with mechanisms and funding sources. The rate of project implementation according to the plan was only about 35%.

Effective implementation of Resolution 98 contributes to promoting the development of transport infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City.

Lack of investment capital is also a major challenge in developing Ho Chi Minh City's transport infrastructure. According to a report by the city's Department of Transport, in the 2021-2025 period, the city allocated only VND75,760 billion from the budget, reaching 28.5% of the demand. From now until 2030, Ho Chi Minh City needs about VND960,000 billion to invest in transport infrastructure.

Resolution 98 allows piloting specific mechanisms and policies to create many opportunities and motivations to promote the development of Ho Chi Minh City's transport infrastructure, specifically paying for BOT projects on a number of existing roads, calling for investment in BT projects with deferred payment instead of land as before, proactively exploiting site clearance, exploiting and developing land funds adjacent to transport projects, piloting new models of urban development associated with modern transport infrastructure, respectively...

Maximize opportunities and resources

Recently, Ho Chi Minh City has established an Advisory Council to implement Resolution 98, adding traffic planning to the project to adjust the general planning of Ho Chi Minh City to 2040, with a vision to 2060, making a list of priority traffic projects for early implementation; researching the application of specific mechanisms and policies to specific projects...

Comrade Phan Cong Bang, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said: Implementing the direction of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the Department of Transport has proactively worked with relevant departments, branches, districts and Thu Duc City to deploy specific mechanisms, apply to existing projects, call for investment, especially prioritizing urgent and urgent projects; pilot TOD model... In August 2023, the Department also proactively worked with functional agencies of neighboring localities to unify the results of research on regional traffic planning, establish pre-feasibility projects applying the mechanisms and policies of Resolution 98.

The Department of Transport has just submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee a proposal for a list of investment projects to upgrade, expand and modernize existing road works using BOT contracts that need to be prioritized for investment, including: Upgrading and expanding National Highway 13, National Highway 1 (from An Lac to Long An province) and National Highway 22; expanding the North-South axis (from Nguyen Van Linh to Cau Ba Chiem intersection); building Binh Tien bridge and road.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport is coordinating with relevant agencies to pay the costs to investors and reduce interest costs for key projects: Can Gio Bridge Project, Nguyen Khoi Road Bridge Project; Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway Upgrade and Expansion Project (from An Phu Intersection to Ring Road 2); Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway Access Road Expansion Project; Bon Xa Intersection Construction Project...

One of the activities organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is to expand dialogue channels, collect comments and suggestions for effective implementation of Resolution 98. On August 11, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee held a meeting with the Advisory Council for the implementation of Resolution 98 with the participation of representatives of associations, businesses, experts, scientists, managers... Dr. Tran Du Lich, Chairman of the Advisory Council, said that the Council focuses on consulting on solutions and methods for mobilizing resources to invest in urban infrastructure construction, TOD models, BT and BOT investment forms, attracting strategic investment in priority sectors and fields...

According to comrade Phan Van Mai, Resolution 98 opens up opportunities to mobilize many resources to invest in synchronous development of transport infrastructure. Based on urgent and priority transport projects and works proposed by the City Department of Transport, the City People's Committee will submit them to the City People's Council for consideration, approval and focus on directing implementation, investment and completion within the next 3-5 years. When the projects are completed, they will create a new look for the urban transport system, creating a driving force for development and growth for the city.

Article and photos: TRUNG KIEN

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