[sustran] Vietnam Releases Modified Blueprint for HCM City in 2020 (fwd)

[Craig Townsend]

[vnforum] - Mesg from VNLink at aol.com

Vietnam Releases Modified Blueprint for HCM City in 2020

HANOI, March 3 Asia Pulse - Planning for the overall development of HCM
City until 2020 has been modified in line with social and economic changes
in the last few years.

Ho Chi Minh City's deputy chief architect An Dung said under the latest
plans, which were approved by the government in late 1998, the city will be
40km to 50km wide, spanning some areas of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung
Tau, Long An and Tay Ninh.

It will be extended to the northwest, linking up with Thuan An in Binh
Duong Province and Bien Hoa town in Dong Nai Province.

The new planning programme focuses on developing the city to the south and
south-east towards the sea front and connecting with Nhon Trach new urban
area in Long Thanh, Dong Nai.

The city's new centre will be built in Thu Thiem in District 2. It is
estimated the city's population will reach 10 million people by 2020
including six million in the inner city.

The city's new commercial services centres will be opened in Thu Thiem
covering 1,700ha. Other major commercial centres, each covering 200ha, will
be built in the Sai Gon South new urban centre and Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon
suburban districts.

Educational, medical and cultural facilities will also be located in the
city's fringe areas. The city's National University covering 800ha will be
in Thu Duc District and Thuan An in Binh Duong.

Another university and vocational training centre will be built in Sai Gon
South and other districts on 300ha. Modern polyclinics and general
hospitals will be built in new districts.

The Historical-Cultural and Ethnology Centre, Thu Duc golf course, and the
Botanical Zoological Garden will be located in the northern part of
District 9.

Entertainment and sport facilities will be built near rivers and lakes in
districts 9, Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh. The City's 460ha Physical Culture and
Sport centre will be built in Rach Chiec, District 2.

There are also plans for a green belt around the city to protect it from
environmental pollution. The project includes the protection of 33,000ha of
submerged saline mangrove forest in Can Gio District and the preservation
of other historic forests.

Transport projects will be a focus of substantial investment. The city's
21.4km East -West Highway will be built between 2001-2005 at a cost of
VND8,101billion.

City belt highways, roads networks linking the city centre with the nearby
provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An and major industrial parks in
outlying districts will also be built.

Part of the planning involves the construction of several bridges across
the Sai Gon River such as a bridge linking Thu Thiem with District 1 and
bridges connecting Thanh Da with Binh Thanh District.

A significant part of the State budget will be spent on public transport
projects in the next 10 years to meet the demand for passenger travel which
is expected to increase by 30 per cent by 2010 and 50 per cent by 2020.

The railway development plan focuses on building an urban railway network,
with a subway or elevated trains, building railway stations and upgrading
the existing Hoa Hung rail station in HCM City.

Modern ports are scheduled for Hiep Phuoc and Can Gio in the city 's fringe
areas to increase the handling capacity of HCM City's ports to 70 million
tonnes of cargo by 2020.

As well as upgrading Tan Son Nhat international airport to handle 10-12
million passengers a year, a new international airport will be built in
Long Thanh (Dong Nai) that can handle 20-30 million passengers a year.

Water supply and drainage projects will be built to fully tap water sources
from the Sai Gon and Dong Nai rivers to meet the city's rising demand of
3.6 million cu.m of water per day by 2010.  About 95 per cent of the urban
population will then have access to clean water.

(VNA) 
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________________________________________________
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