A map shows the direction of the planned Ring Road No. 2 project (red line) in HCM City. — Photo courtesy of HCM City Department of Planning and Architecture

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Transport has proposed a VNĐ13.6 trillion (US$596 million) allocation for building two sections of the Ring Road No. 2 project.

The allocation should be made by city authorities as a medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-25 period, it has said.

The entire Ring Road No. 2, which will run more than 64km as it passes through District 7, Bình Chánh District and Thủ Đức City, has received investment for around 50 kilometres.

The two sections for which capital allocation has been proposed are part of a 14km-long stretch of the ring road in Thủ Đức City on which construction is yet to begin.

According to the pre-feasibility study of the project, the first section will be 3.5km long and run from Phú Hữu Bridge to the Hà Nội Highway. It is estimated to cost about VNĐ8.6 trillion ($377 million) to build.

It will have six lanes and an overpass under Metro Line No. 1 that is still under construction.

The second section, 2.8km long, will start from the first section to the Phạm Văn Đồng intersection and cost about VNĐ8.4 trillion ($368 million). It will also have six lanes and an overpass.

The proposed capital allocation is equivalent to 80 per cent of the total investment for the two sections. The remaining amount of more than VNĐ3.4 trillion ($149 million) will be “balanced” to arrange for project investment in the later stages, the proposal says.

For the remaining 8km of the ring road, the city is making plans to raise funds, dividing it into two additional sections.

When being completed, Ring Road No. 2 is expected to reduce traffic congestion and the number of vehicles entering the inner city, improve connectivity with roads leading to local ports, and link up with the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway and ring roads No 3 and 4.

It will help form a connecting route between neighbouring provinces and minimise congestion at the city’s entrances.

The Department of Transport has also asked the city to direct relevant departments and agencies to speed up auctions of land along Ring Road No. 3, where construction is ongoing, to raise funds for speeding up work.  

The Ring Road No. 3 was approved more than 10 years ago, but its construction has been slower than expected, the department has noted.

Now identified as a key and urgent traffic project for the 2021-25 period, the road will finally be nearly 92 kilometres long, running through HCM City, and Đồng Nai, Bình Dương and Long An provinces.

The four-lane road is being built in four sections, with the first phase estimated to cost about VNĐ75.8 trillion ($3.3 billion).

Some sections have been completed, and the city wants to complete the road by 2025.

This road is also expected to play an important role in stimulating development and improving connectivity in the Southern Key Economic Zone.

It will be linked to national highways No. 1A and No. 22, and the Bến Lức-Long Thành, HCM City-Trung Lương, HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây and HCM City-Mộc Bài expressways.

It will reduce travel time between several localities and reduce the number of vehicles entering the city centre, thus reducing traffic jams and accidents there. — VNS