Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, speaks at a meeting on Thursday to discuss ways to expedite the construction of Ring Road No. 4. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Experts have called for “special mechanisms” so that localities can expedite the construction of the Ring Road No. 4 project, which will connect HCM City and Bình Dương, Long An, Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces in the Southeast region.

Speaking at a meeting on Thursday, Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the People’s Committee, said it was important to expedite the Ring Road according to “expressway standards” to boost the economic development of the southern key economic zone. 

The Ring Road will pass through five localities and will help connect satellite urban areas of the city with other localities in the southern key economic zone.

Once completed, the road will link key economic zones with important transportation hubs in the region, saving time and reducing logistics costs. 

To ensure the timely implementation of the project, Mãi proposed studying the division of the project into phases, its scale, investment form, and solutions to connect it to key traffic routes. 

Lê Anh Tuấn, deputy Minister of Transport, emphasised the importance of the Belt Road No. 4 project, which aims to improve connectivity and create new urban spaces. 

He said the ministry will coordinate with other relevant ministries to allocate part of the State capital for the 2021-2025 period, as required by the prime minister.

The Ring Road No. 4 project has faced delays from 2021, putting pressure on the national highway system.

Trần Quang Lâm, director of HCM City Department of Transportation, said it is necessary to involve the authority of each province and city for their respective projects, in order to meet the deadline for groundbreaking in 2025 and completion in 2028.

According to the department, the road was originally planned to be nearly 200km long with six to eight lanes, designed for a speed of 100km per hour. 

This project, part of the national road network plan, is now set for groundbreaking in 2025 and completion in 2028. 

The first phase of the project is estimated to cost around VNĐ106 trillion. — VNS