Ho Chi Minh City speeds up progress of key projects

According to the list of assignments of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, there are 13 working groups supervising 38 key projects of the city. Of which, Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen monitors, inspects and supervises 3 projects.

Waiting for 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project

The project to solve tidal flooding in Ho Chi Minh City area taking into account climate change factors (phase 1) worth nearly 10,000 billion VND (10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project) started in June 2016, expected to be completed in April 2018. The project helps control tidal flooding, respond to climate change for an area of ​​570 km2 with about 6.5 million people on the right bank of the Saigon River and the city center.

According to Trung Nam BT 1547 Company Limited (the project implementation enterprise), the project has been suspended 3 times in 2018, 2019 and 2020. One of the reasons for the project's suspension, affecting the progress, is due to some problems that have resulted in the contract appendix not being signed yet. According to the BT (construction - transfer) contract appendix No. 4769/PL-UBND signed on November 18, 2019 between the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the investor, the project implementation enterprise, the contract implementation period expired on June 26, 2020 but the parties have not yet signed the contract extension appendix. Therefore, there is no legal basis to continue implementing the project. Also because there is no such contract extension appendix, the project's capital source (funded by the State Bank through BIDV) cannot extend the disbursement time.

Given the importance and urgency of the project, in April 2021, the Government issued Resolution 40/NQ-CP to "rescue" the project. Next, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee worked with the State Bank on issues related to the project. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee assigned the Department of Planning and Investment as the head of the negotiation team to coordinate with relevant departments and branches to organize negotiations on the contract appendix with the investor. At the same time, the Department of Finance was assigned to carry out a number of issues to prepare for the meeting between the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the State Bank (after the BT contract appendix and the project's credit contract appendix were signed).

In March 2023, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong inspected the Muong Chuoi culvert project. According to Trung Nam BT 1547 Company Limited, the BT contract appendix signed in the first quarter of 2023 has removed obstacles. The project is waiting for the State Bank's opinion so that BIDV can carry out disbursement procedures for investors to continue construction. The overall progress of the project has reached 93%, of which 6 tide-prevention culverts have completed the infrastructure construction and valve gate installation. If disbursement is received in the next 2 months, the project will be completed in February 2024, put into trial operation and handed over to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee by May 2024.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen test ride metro train No. 1 on April 15. Photo: Hoang Trieu

Expectations for metro line 1 and Tham Luong canal

On April 15, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the working delegation inspected and experienced metro line No. 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) from Rach Chiec station to Suoi Tien station.

Reporting to the Prime Minister on the progress of metro line 1, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hien, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Project Management Board (investor), said that the overall progress of the project has reached 95%, the remaining items are mainly pedestrian bridges and stations. Metro line 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the investor to continue to speed up the progress of the remaining items of the project, trying to complete the project by the September 2, 2023 holiday. Metro line 1 has a total investment of more than VND 43,700 billion, and was started in 2012. This metro line is 19.7 km long (including 2.6 km underground and 17.1 km above ground) with 14 stations, including 3 underground stations and 11 above ground stations. After 9 shipments, in May 2022, all 17 trains of Metro Line 1 arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. Each metro train is 61.5 m long, can carry 930 passengers, of which 147 are seated and 783 are standing. The maximum designed speed is 110 km/h (elevated section) and 80 km/h (underground section).

The third key project inspected and urged by the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee is the project to build infrastructure and improve the environment of Tham Luong - Ben Cat - Rach Nuoc Len canal, which started in February this year. The project has a total investment of VND8,200 billion and is expected to be completed in 2025. The project passes through 7 districts: 12, Binh Tan, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, Go Vap, Binh Thanh and Binh Chanh. Accordingly, the project will build a canal embankment with a total length of more than 63 km; dredge the canal with a length of more than 31 km. Along with the canal renovation, the project will form a parallel traffic route on both sides of the canal.

According to Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai, this project combines projects to improve drainage, wastewater systems and adapt to climate change in the Tham Luong - Ben Cat basin and projects to improve drainage, wastewater systems and adapt to climate change in the West Saigon basin, expected to be implemented in the near future, helping to complete drainage infrastructure for the western and northern areas of the city.

According to Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, the establishment of 13 working groups to supervise 38 key projects is based on the spirit: "What needs to be shared, then share; what needs to be corrected, then correct; what needs to be strengthened, then strengthen; what needs to be handled, then handle."

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/tp-hcm-thuc-tien-do-du-an-trong-diem-20230419215944989.htm