On the morning of July 11, the 10th Session of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council continued its second day, questioning the Director of the Department of Transport and Tourism and the Chairman of District 1.

Opening the question and answer session with Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam, many delegates were interested in projects in the transport sector.

Delegate Doan Thi Ngoc Cam raised the question: “The Can Gio bridge project has been the desire of Can Gio people for decades, and is also an economic development project towards the sea. So, when will it start?”

Delegate Doan Thi Ngoc Cam questioned the progress of Can Gio Bridge. Photo: Nguyen Hue

Responding, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam said that in the future this place will be a green city, so it must both develop and preserve.

To develop Can Gio, transport infrastructure must come first, in which the Can Gio bridge project is the top priority. The City People's Committee has assigned the Department of Transport to prepare a pre-feasibility study and it is basically completed.

According to Mr. Lam, Can Gio bridge is a large project, with a clearance of 55m, a total investment of over 10 trillion VND and will be invested in the form of PPP.

Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam answers questions at the question and answer session. Photo: Nguyen Hue

“The basic technical work is complete. We are currently reviewing compensation and site clearance costs to start construction on the occasion of April 30, 2025,” said the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport.

Mr. Lam also said that, besides Can Gio bridge, the Department of Transport is reviewing and expanding existing bridges on Rung Sac road, because the current bridges are narrower than the road.

Metro will operate commercially as committed

Delegate Tran Van Thang (District 11) is concerned about whether metro project No. 1 will be completed as committed by the end of the year? And how effective it will be when it is put into commercial operation...

Delegate Tran Van Thang questioned about metro rail system No. 1. Photo: Nguyen Hue

Regarding metro line 1, Mr. Tran Quang Lam said that the city's Urban Railway Management Board is committed to completing it on schedule by the end of 2023 and putting it into commercial operation in early 2024.

Solutions and plans for operation have been fully developed to ensure safe and economically efficient exploitation. During operation, traffic safety and fire safety are given top priority.

Regarding the ticket card issue, Mr. Lam said that in the short term, Japan's closed ticket card technology will be invested in. In the long term, the Department of Transport will receive support from the UK to research open ticket cards, which will later integrate many different payment features, not just for paying for metro rides.

Metro line 1 is in the process of testing.

Delegate Dang Tran Truc Giao raised the issue, Resolution 98 has been approved by the National Assembly to pilot a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City, how will the transport sector take advantage and promote it in its field in the coming time?

Mr. Giao also asked the Director of the Department of Transport how he would advise on how to put transportation first, paving the way for economic development.

Responding to the content of traffic economic development, Mr. Lam said that this is a new concept, the city is in the process of approaching it.

According to Mr. Lam, transport economics is investing in transport to stimulate economic development and vice versa.

For example, with transportation projects, the city studies and reviews land funds along both sides of the projects to create budget revenue.

“Currently, for projects such as Ring Road 3, Xuyen Tam Canal, Tham Luong-Ben Cat Canal, etc., the city is researching the direction of reviewing land use planning along both sides of the river, creating land funds along the projects, both creating economic revenue and space for the projects,” informed Director of the Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam.

According to Mr. Lam, the National Assembly has passed Resolution 98, allowing Ho Chi Minh City to pilot outstanding policies. Accordingly, current projects are separated into separate compensation and clearance packages, this is a new policy and creates conditions to accelerate the implementation of transportation projects in particular and other fields.

Mr. Lam also said that the city's investment in transportation currently only reaches about 30% of the demand. With Resolution 98, it is hoped that urban transportation infrastructure for the city will be accelerated.

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