HCMC seeks to up spending on major ring road

In its letter to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Ministry of Planning and Investment recently, HCMC proposed a budget increase for its public investment plan during the 2021-2025 period.

The city’s main purpose is to allocate more funding for Ring Road No. 3, which connects it with neighboring provinces and industrial hubs.

The first phase of the road is estimated to cost VND75.77 trillion ($3.32 million), as stated in a pre-feasibility study report submitted to the government by the city administration earlier this year.

Of the sum, nearly VND40 trillion will come from the central budget and the rest from the state budget of each locality through which the route passes, including VND24.38 trillion from HCMC’s fund to build a section of almost 48 kilometers through the city.

Stretching over 90 kilometers (56 miles), Ring Road No. 3 will allow vehicles to travel to and from Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai without having to enter the inner HCMC.

As approved by the legislative National Assembly, HCMC can spend more than VND142 trillion of its budget for its public investment plan in the period, including funds to build the ring road.

However, the city stated the sum would only be enough to cover public projects in the 2022-2023 period.

Recently, it had calculated that it could mobilize an extra of VND119 trillion from “other sources” and therefore, wants to add the sum to the total capital for the public investment plan.

By doing so, it could have more funds to spend on the ring road, the city noted.

As agreed by HCMC and its neighbors, completing the road is necessary to help tackle chronic gridlock in several areas and create a driving force for economic and social development in the Southern Key Economic Region, which comprises HCMC, the industrial hubs of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, and the provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, along with Mekong Delta provinces Long An and Tien Giang.

Ten years since approval, only 16 kilometers of the ring road have been completed in Binh Duong Province.

According to a plan by the Ministry of Transport, once complete, the ring road would have eight lanes for vehicles to travel at 100 kph aside from parallel roads on both sides.