[sustran] Vietnam PM Approves Trans HCM City Highway Project

Craig Townsend townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au
Sun Jan 30 05:46:00 JST 2000


Vietnam PM Approves Trans HCM City Highway Project

HANOI, Jan 28 Asia Pulse - Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has cleared the way
for preliminary work to begin on the country's largest-ever Official
Development Assistance (ODA) project. The Trans-Ho Chi Minh City Highway
project, worth more than VND8,000 billion, is expected to ease traffic
snarl-ups in Viet Nam's biggest metropolis.

The January 14th decision approved the launch of a pre-feasibility study
for the 21.4km east-west thoroughfare, known to HCM City residents as the
East-West Transport Axis project.

The highway will consist of three sections, the 13.6km Canal Side Road
running from the west point on National Highway No.1 (in Binh Chanh
District) to Calmette Bridge (in District 1), the 1.9km Sai Gon River
Tunnel and the 5.9km Thu Thiem Road running from the tunnel to the
beginning point on Ha Noi Highway in District 2. Construction of the
project is expected to begin in August of 2001.

According to a report by the Special Assistance for Project Formation
(SAPROF) team set up by the Japan Bank for International Co-operation
(JBIC), the highway will be the main route to the city centre from outlying
areas including the Sai Gon Port to the northeast as well as southwest
regions of the Mekong Delta.

The highway will help reduce traffic congestion on Sai Gon Bridge and
related major roads in the city centre thanks to a tunnel bypass system.

- The alignment of the 13.05-km Canal Side Road, or Package 1, starts from
the end point on the Highway No.1 and runs eastward to cross Communal Road
No.5, An Duong Vuong Street, the proposed Inner Ring Road and Lo Gom Canal
and joins the west end of Tran Van Kieu Street. It continues eastward to
run from Tran Van Kieu Street, Ham Tu Street and Ben Chuong Duong Street,
along the Ben Nghe Canal, Tau Hu Canal and Ben Nghe Rivulet, and then
reaches Calmette Bridge at the end of Package 1.

- The alignment of Package 2 starts from Calmette Bridge and underpasses
Sai Gon River by immersed and cut and cover tunnel. It runs continuously
eastward, connects with Highway No.25 and then bends to the north to merge
into Ha Noi Highway at the beginning point near Rach Chiec Bridge in
District 2.

According to the SAPROF report, the immersed tunnel could be constructed
using prefabricated sections floated to the crossing site and lowered into
place in a pre-excavated trench. The tunnel profile will depend on the
river depth together with vertical clearance and grade requirements for
traffic.

The 31m-wide tunnel, from which pedestrians and bicycles will be banned,
will be six lanes wide. Construction of the tunnel alone requires
investment of over VND3,000 billion.

Implementation of the project will include reconstruction and improvement
of five existing bridges of Cha Va, Chu Y, Calmette, Mong and Khanh Hoi.
Five interchanges are proposed under this project, including a clover leaf
with National Highway No. 1 and flyovers to the Cha Va and Chu Y bridges.

Other road facilities included in the project are retaining walls, river
bank slope protection along the canal, pedestrian and bicycle bridges,
traffic signals, new lighting and public utilities, and a geographic
information system (GIS).

The project requires about 130ha of land for Right-of-Way (ROW), consisting
of existing roads, residential land, small shops, markets, small workshops,
private and State-owned factories, warehouses and agricultural land.

Land acquisition for ROW affects 5,214 houses. Some 5,000 will be
demolished and the rest will be partly demolished and then repaired. The
total number of residents affected was estimated at 25,000 in the SAPROF
report.

To relocate the people affected by the project, 15 resettlement sites with
a housing capacity of 5,600 houses have been designed. Land acquisition,
compensation, and resettlement site development costs are estimated at
VND1,467 billion (US$105.2 million).

Works on relocation of these affected houses and compensation for site
clearance is already underway, according to Deputy Minister of Transport
Nguyen Tan Man.

Construction costs for the project are estimated to reach $457.79 million.
The JBIC is expected to provide loans of JPY67,055 (approximately $644.8
million) to the project, and according to officials from the Ministry of
Transport agreements are expected to be signed before March 31.

JBIC's ODA loan will make up 85 per cent of the project's investment, with
the remaining 15 per cent coming from the Government's counter capital.

"The feasibility study for the project is expected to be considered and
approved by the Prime Minister in two months," Dr. Le Qua of Viet Nam's
Counterpart Team for SAPROF told Viet Nam News Agency earlier this week.

HCM City People's Committee, the agency responsible for the implementation
of the project, is also expected to announce the Project Management Unit
(PMU) soon.

Implementation of the project is estimated to take 12 months for the
detailed design, 30 months for construction of the Canal Side Road and 40
months for the Sai Gon River Crossing Tunnel and Thu Thiem Road.

Deputy Minister Man said that construction of the entire Trans-HCM City
Highway should be completed in mid-2005.

(VNA) 

________________________________________________
Craig Townsend
Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy
Murdoch University
South Street, Murdoch
Perth, Western Australia 6150

tel: (61 8) 9360 6293
fax: (61 8) 9360 6421
email: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au



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