Confused because Binh Duong does things differently from other provinces

On the afternoon of October 16, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan had a working session with leaders of the People's Committees of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Long An and Ho Chi Minh City provinces on coordination and implementation of procedures for the implementation of the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 project.

Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan speaks at the meeting. Photo: My Quynh

At the meeting, Mr. Tran Quang Lam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said that currently, localities are coordinating to quickly implement the project's pre-feasibility report. Ho Chi Minh City is the unit assigned to preside over and coordinate with the provinces to implement this project.

Mr. Lam said that regarding the issues suggested by the Ministry of Transport, the Transport Design Consulting Corporation - TEDI and its component consultants are coordinating research, specifically reviewing intersections; reviewing route directions, investment costs, site clearance compensation costs and highway standards.

Notably, Mr. Lam said that, except for Binh Duong province, the remaining four provinces and cities are very active in researching component projects.

According to Mr. Lam, in this project, Binh Duong province has not complied with the requirements of the Technical Regulations on Expressways; has not added the Thu Bien Bridge item to the Ring Road 4 component project in Binh Duong province and the financial plan is not synchronous (input parameters are not synchronous with the component projects of other localities).

"These issues have been discussed many times by the Department of Transport of the localities, but a whole month has passed without any agreement. We are very impatient because we are afraid that it will affect the progress of the general procedures of the entire Ring Road 4 project," said Mr. Lam.

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam said that, except for Binh Duong province, the remaining four provinces and cities are very active in researching the Ring Road 4 component project. Photo: My Quynh

To keep up with the general progress of the provinces, Mr. Lam said that there are two major issues that need to be focused on solving. First, the component project of Binh Duong province needs to be reviewed and adjusted according to expressway standards. Second, the input parameters for traffic forecast, intersection arrangement as well as the parameters of the financial plan must have a general and overall consistency.

"Binh Duong province said that the Ring Road 4 project through the province has been approved by the People's Council, so there is no change in the overall project. This is a very difficult reality. We hope to have a common standard. The Ring Road 4 project is very strategic, if it does not meet the standards, it would be a pity," said Mr. Lam.

Beltway 4 through Binh Duong province is 43km long, of which about 31km is a new route, and will be built according to the expressway standards of Beltway 4, with phase 1 having 4 lanes.

However, the last 12km of the route bordering Ho Chi Minh City is an existing 4-lane urban road, with 5 level crossings. If implemented according to this plan, there will be a section through Binh Duong province that will not be in line with the expressway standards of Ring Road 4.

Director of the HCM City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam proposed two solutions. If agreeing to follow the common standards with the provinces, Binh Duong province is requested to direct consultants to focus on completing the project to ensure common standards for expressways; input parameters and finance.

If Binh Duong still follows the investment policy to ensure progress, it is recommended to separate this province's project, have a joint report but no joint policy, and handle it later.

Mr. Lam suggested that Binh Duong province should have opinions and choose a plan soon to avoid delaying and losing opportunities for the remaining provinces.

Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 in Binh Duong. Photo: My Quynh

Listening to the report of Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam and localities, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan said that Binh Duong province needs to pay close attention to the overall synchronization of the Ring Road 4 project.

According to the Deputy Minister, the entire Beltway 4 route needs to be synchronized in terms of lanes, toll rates and speed. The road project is invested in the form of PPP, so people who pay the toll must enjoy the best service.

On the other hand, according to the Deputy Minister, if after 10 years, the road is overloaded, other provinces and cities expand it to 8 lanes (according to investment phases), while Binh Duong province has finalized the planning for 4 lanes, then not being able to expand will be a major limitation.

Therefore, Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan suggested that Binh Duong province pay close attention to the need for project synchronization, costs, technical standards and synchronization for future investment, upgrading and expansion according to the plan.

Receiving the comments, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh, Director of the Department of Transport of Binh Duong province, said that this week, the People's Committee of Binh Duong province will have a meeting to review the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 project, then report to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee (the unit assigned to coordinate the project) and related provinces. Then, on this basis, the related units will submit to the Ministry of Transport and submit to the National Assembly by the end of this year.

The Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 Project has a total length of about 206.72km (Ba Ria - Vung Tau: 18.23km; Dong Nai: 45.54km; Binh Duong: 47.95km; Ho Chi Minh City: 16.70km; Long An: 78.3km (of which the section in Long An province is 74.5km, the section in Ho Chi Minh City is 3.8km)).

In phase 1, the entire project will carry out site clearance at once according to the approved plan. Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 is expected to have a scale of 4 expressway lanes, continuous emergency lanes, 23 intersections and parallel roads, residential roads on both sides according to the traffic needs of each locality.

Estimated total investment is about 136,948 billion VND (expected central budget capital is about 49,902 billion VND, expected local budget capital is about 37,028 billion VND).

In this project, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is the competent authority to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committees of localities to organize the preparation of the Pre-Feasibility Study Report for the Ring Road 4 project, along with specific policies and mechanisms, to promptly submit to the National Assembly at the thematic session at the end of 2024.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/vanh-dai-4-tphcm-lung-tung-vi-binh-duong-lam-khac-cac-tinh-thanh-con-lai-192241016204938066.htm