The matches are in the final

However, Ho Chi Minh City's urban infrastructure is still making strong progress as many key and vital projects are being started, completed and put into operation.

The beginning of a long journey

Six months since the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project started, Mr. Luong Minh Phuc, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board, is still emotional when recalling it.

"The groundbreaking of Ring Road 3 is just the first step. The road is still very long, reminding the transport industry to make efforts to turn the estimated designs into the first kilometers."

The Tran Quoc Hoan - Phan Thuc Duyen connecting road project, the gateway to Tan Son Nhat airport, is being accelerated to connect to terminal T3. Photo: Anh Tu.

After more than a decade of planning, only 15km of Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 3 section through Binh Duong has been completed. The road connecting key economic zones in the South remains unfinished, causing headaches for the government due to lack of investment capital.

However, after a year of efforts from the entire city and central political system, Beltway 3 was officially approved, started construction and is under construction.

Mr. Luong Minh Phuc compared the traffic workers accompanying Ring Road 3 to a football team that has gone through the quarterfinals, the semi-finals and now the finals.

"We are moved when looking back on the past year, which has been extremely difficult at times. The trust from leaders and the sharing from people are valuable assets for the transport sector to have the motivation to continue. Because there are huge challenges waiting ahead," Mr. Phuc shared.

2023 is also a year with many memorable milestones for Ho Chi Minh City. On December 4, the largest city in the country for the first time received full funding to build a pedestrian bridge connecting the central bank with the new urban area of ​​Thu Thiem, worth more than 1,000 billion VND.

This is one of five bridges and a tunnel across the Saigon River planned to connect Thu Thiem with the surrounding area.

On the same day of signing the acceptance of the thousand-billion-dong pedestrian bridge, the City Department of Transport also submitted to the City People's Committee the results of the pre-feasibility study of the project to build Thu Thiem 4 bridge across the Saigon River, connecting Thu Duc City with the South Saigon area.

The project has a total investment of more than 6,000 billion VND. If the design is approved, this will be the first bridge in Ho Chi Minh City that can flexibly open and close the clearance for navigation.

Thu Thiem 4 Bridge, once completed, is expected to create even stronger development momentum for Thu Thiem and Thu Duc areas in particular and Ho Chi Minh City in general.

Efforts to bring many projects to the finish line

Spanning the 4 quarters of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City will also restart many projects that have been delayed for years due to land acquisition issues. Among them, Long Kieng Bridge will be completed after nearly 2 decades of approval and construction.

The Tran Quoc Hoan - Phan Thuc Duyen connecting road project, the gateway to Tan Son Nhat airport, is being accelerated to connect to terminal T3. Photo: Anh Tu.

This wait has made many 80-year-old women afraid that they will not be able to witness the day the bridge takes shape. On the day of the bridge's inauguration, Le Thi Nga (86 years old) cried tears of joy: "I never thought I would see the Long Kieng bridge open to traffic. Now that the new bridge is here, I hope people's business will be more favorable."

In September 2023, Long Kieng bridge will open to traffic, helping people in the area travel conveniently, increasing traffic connection between the South of the city and Long An province.

The completed project not only meets the expectations of local people, but as Mr. Luong Minh Phuc once said, it is a promise of the government and the transport sector of Ho Chi Minh City.

After Long Kieng bridge, a series of other bridges such as Can Gio, Vam Sat 2 with a total investment of more than 342 billion VND were also inaugurated. Bridges that used to be exposed to the sun and rain such as Nam Ly, Tang Long, Long Dai bridges began to move and accelerate.

Typically, after 4 years of suspension and 6 months of start-up, Nam Ly Bridge just completed the main span in October 2023. This event marks an important turning point, bringing the project towards full completion on September 2, 2024.

Having the same problem of land acquisition, Long Dai bridge with a total investment of more than 350 billion VND was completed and opened to traffic in the first days of the new year.

The project, which has been awaited by the people for nearly 20 years, will break the barrier between Long Binh and Long Phuoc wards. Tang Long Bridge has also just resumed construction, expected to be completed on April 30, 2025.

Located at the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City, the An Phu intersection project with a scale of 3 floors and a cost of more than 3,500 billion VND is also being focused on construction.

The An Phu Intersection Project plays a role in solving the traffic congestion hotspot at the eastern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City. With the largest scale ever, this intersection will become an impressive highlight, worthy of architecture, and a symbol of Ho Chi Minh City and Thu Duc City.

The year 2023 ended, but a series of projects were opened and completed. Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen recognized that the disbursement results had clearly improved. More than 50% of the capital plan was disbursed, although the assigned capital was double the result of 2022.

"From the workload, requirements, time and results achieved, it can be seen that Ho Chi Minh City has had a year of both forward and backward work. The city has both carried out urgent work and long-term work, ensuring the responsibilities assigned to each organization and individual, while carrying out the city's common tasks," Secretary Nguyen Van Nen shared.

2024, complete 2 important transportation projects

In early 2024, the city's five key transport projects will move into the synchronous construction phase, with early completion from 2024 to 2026.

Specifically: Component project 1 of Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 (including Thay Thuoc Canal bridge); An Phu intersection; upgrading and expanding National Highway 50; Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho intersection underpass; building a road connecting Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa (Tan Binh district).

Of these, two important projects will be completed in 2024: the Tran Quoc Hoan connecting road connecting T3 terminal, reducing pressure on Tan Son Nhat airport, and the Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho intersection.

Ho Chi Minh City leaders said that these 5 projects have been fully deployed with site, contractors, and capital allocation since the beginning of the year. In 2024, the city's investment capital is nearly 80,000 billion VND, this resource is completely sufficient for the above projects.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/giao-thong-tphcm-2023-nhung-tran-bong-dang-vao-chung-ket-192240211135049199.htm