HCMC to spend $640M on expressway, canal cleanup

The city People’s Committee said Wednesday a sum of VND5.94 trillion would be earmarked for the HCMC – Moc Bai Expressway and VND9.3 trillion to renovate the severely polluted Xuyen Tam Canal.

The expressway will run 53.5 km (33.2 miles) to the eponymous district in the border province of Tay Ninh, and include a 24-km section in HCMC.

It will have four lanes and allow a top speed of 120 kph in the first phase. It will cost VND16.7 trillion with the rest coming from private sources. It is scheduled for completion in 2027, with the private investors collecting toll for 18 years and one month.

The expressway will play a vital role in connecting HCMC and Cambodia and easing congestion on National Highway No. 22.

Garbage fills up Xuyen Tam Canal in Binh Thanh District in 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Xuyen Tam Canal, which runs eight kilometers through Binh Thanh and Go Vap districts, has for long been infamous for its dark, smelly water and thousands of people living in wretched conditions along its banks.

The upgrade will include cleaning the canal, improving the drainage and building roads along its two sides.

The city will earmark VND6.65 trillion for relocating the families living on its banks.