Transport development is the driving force of economic development.

The development of transport infrastructure in Tay Ninh not only facilitates travel but also plays an important role in stimulating the province's tourism industry.

VTC News reporter interviewed Mr. Duong Van Thang - Vice Chairman of Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee about the synchronization between transport development and tourism industry, which has created a comprehensive development ecosystem, positively contributing to the local economy.

30/4 Street, Tay Ninh City is expanded to 6 lanes. (Photo: Tay Ninh Newspaper)

- Sir, what solutions have helped Tay Ninh province's traffic develop in recent years?

Transport is the industry that must go first, paving the way for other economic sectors to develop. Reality has proven that any locality with a complete transport infrastructure, that is, a system of highways, airports, and seaports, will develop quickly and sustainably.

From the above viewpoint and perception, the 11th Party Congress of Tay Ninh province for the 2020-2025 term identified the development of transport infrastructure as one of the province's breakthroughs. This is a very correct policy that is supported by the people, and is thoroughly grasped and implemented by all sectors, levels and the entire political system in a very drastic spirit.

To realize the above viewpoints and perceptions, the province has focused on mobilizing resources from the local budget, the central budget and other social resources to develop transport. In particular, in the period of 2021 - 2025, the total capital of the provincial budget for medium-term construction is 20,000 billion VND, but the province has reserved 6,000 billion VND for transport. If calculated in proportion, it accounts for more than 1/4 of the total development investment capital in the medium-term period.

Mr. Duong Van Thang, Vice Chairman of Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee. (Photo: Tay Ninh Newspaper)

In addition, the province tries to take advantage of central capital sources to invest in projects in the province. For example, the border patrol road project invested by the Ministry of National Defense and Military Region 7 has a total investment in the first phase of about 1,500 billion.

Currently, more than 160km have been invested, this project has great significance for national defense and security and for the people in the border areas to develop the economy and society. The route is completed, the people are very happy, they will be assured of production, assured of life because the infrastructure is now complete.

Most recently, the province has coordinated with the Ministry of Transport to start the Ho Chi Minh Road project, Chau Thanh - Duc Hoa section. This project runs about 20km through Tay Ninh with an investment of about 2,300 billion VND. This is a very important project, when completed, it will connect Tay Ninh with the Southeast, Southwest, and Central Highlands regions.

- In your opinion, which transport infrastructure projects will contribute to the positive transformation of transport in Tay Ninh?

The first is provincial road 744 connecting Tay Ninh - Binh Duong, the total cost of this route is 1,800 billion to invest in connecting with Binh Duong. This is an important project to increase regional connectivity to promote socio-economic development of the Southeast provinces.

The second is the project connecting with Binh Phuoc province - Road 794. Currently investing in phase 2, expanding and upgrading this route.

Panorama of Long Hoa market and Ba Den mountain. (Photo: Le Viet Khanh)

Third, Tay Ninh also invested capital to connect with Long An's 838C road. When these routes are completed, the travel time to Long An, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City will be faster, saving time and costs for people and businesses.

The next routes are priority for choosing internal routes, Tay Ninh has invested in roads 793, 792 from Tay Ninh city to Tan Bien, Tan Chau districts to Chang Riec border gate; or investing in road 795 connecting Tan Bien and Tan Chau districts has also been completed...

In addition to regional, inter-provincial and inter-district connecting routes, Tay Ninh has also focused on urban beautification routes in recent times. For example, 30/4 Street has 6 beautiful lanes. This is the first project in which the province has put all telecommunications, electricity and water infrastructure underground and expanded to Hoa Thanh District and neighboring areas.

All these projects have contributed to changing the appearance of the urban area, the city and the people are very supportive. Because these projects are invested in a complete and systematic way, people can rest assured that they do not have to move back and forth and business will be more convenient than the old roads that have not been urbanized.

- What factors play an important role in improving the province's road transport system?

The first factor is from the perspective of awareness of the policy of unified and decisive action and the consensus of the entire political system of the people in the province. The reason why the people in the province are unanimous is because in the past time, localities have promoted propaganda to the people, realized it with new, modern and spacious infrastructure, so the people are very excited.

At the border patrol road project, when the project was not ready, sometimes compensation had not been paid, but people still handed over the land to the contractor to build. They thought that this was a road to demonstrate sovereignty, national security, national defense and security, so they felt very comfortable, so we were really touched.

From the border patrol route project to later domestic projects, most people were very unanimous. Although here and there, there were requests to review prices and areas, only a few were in favor, the majority supported them.

Border patrol route in Tay Ninh. (Photo: Tay Ninh Newspaper)

It is the consensus of the people that leads to quick site clearance, quick disbursement, and good project implementation. This is shown when in recent years, Tay Ninh is among the top provinces with good disbursement.

Specifically, in 2022 and 2023, Tay Ninh is also one of the 15 provinces and cities with the highest disbursement rate according to the Prime Minister's plan for public investment. In 2023, it is in the top 10 for on-schedule disbursement in the 6-month and 9-month quarters.

The second important factor is the drastic and focused implementation. The province has established a Steering Committee for Breakthroughs, in which transportation is a breakthrough, headed by the Provincial Party Secretary. Next, a Working Group was established with the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee as the head and relevant sectors as members.

This team is responsible for directing, inspecting, and handling the removal of obstacles and difficulties in key construction projects and holding monthly meetings with investors from the province to the district to hear reports on capital disbursement, difficulties, and recommendations on how to resolve them as quickly as possible.

The third factor is that the province has established a site clearance board for key construction projects. Since the establishment of this board, there has been a change in site clearance work.

Another important factor is the establishment of a working exchange group consisting of provincial leaders, department directors and local leaders to discuss specific issues in the group.

For example, any unit or locality that is having problems with site clearance, late payment to residents, or slow contractors... will bring this issue to the group to discuss, resolve problems, and find solutions.

- Which key projects in the transport sector are prioritized, contributing significantly to the province's development in 2024, sir?

The first is the Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai expressway project, which the Party Committee and Government of Tay Ninh province have identified as a very important project for the province's economic and social planning.

Not only helping the two localities but also importantly for the entire Southeast region, when the expressway is completed, it will connect the Phnom Penh - Bau Bang expressway, connecting Phnom Penh to other countries.

Tay Ninh province is very interested and coordinates very well with Ho Chi Minh City to implement this project. The project is currently being appraised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. It is likely that this year it will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval and investment policy.

Panorama of Tay Ninh city. (Photo: Duong Vinh Tuyen)

The second project that Tay Ninh is implementing is the Go Dau expressway to Xa Mat international border gate. Currently, there is a feasibility study report and we will try to hold a meeting soon. The Government has assigned Tay Ninh the authority to decide on investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP). Accordingly, the province will spend money to clear the land, and the investor will spend capital to exploit and operate the toll collection.

Third, Tay Ninh will focus on completing two component projects of the 787B, 789, and N8 inter-route routes. These are important routes connecting Tay Ninh to Long An through many districts of the province with a total investment of more than VND 3,000 billion. These projects have started construction and are striving to be completed in 2024.

- Recently, the number of tourists coming to Tay Ninh has increased rapidly. Has this contributed significantly to the development of local transportation?

Currently, the number of tourists visiting the national tourist area of Ba Den Mountain has reached 5 million. Every day, every month, every year when tourists return to Tay Ninh, they see changes and differences in the traffic infrastructure.

Transportation changes and developments reduce travel time and costs for tourists, so the number of visitors to the province increases annually.

In addition, Tay Ninh tourism has been systematically invested in, with more and more attractive products... contributing to attracting more and more tourists to Tay Ninh.

Thank you!

Hoang Tho

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