The HCM City - Trung Lương expressway will be prioritised from now to the end of 20225. Photo: tuoitre.vn

CẦN THƠ — Leaders of HCM City and western provinces agreed that from now until the end of 2025, they will prioritise six traffic projects, including the expansion of the HCM City - Trung Lương Expressway and National Highway 1.

Leaders of HCM City and leaders of the provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region held a conference to review an agreement to cooperate in socio-economic development between the localities.

The conference assessed the results of cooperation activities between HCM City and the western provinces from March 2023 to present, and set out directions for action from now until the end of 2025.

At the conference, Quách Ngọc Tuân, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of HCM City, said that since the signing of the cooperation agreement in 2023, the Department of Industry and Trade of HCM City has successfully organized the Conference on Connecting Supply and Demand between HCM City and other provinces and cities.

About 184 enterprises in the Mekong Delta participated, displaying 328 booths of local specialties.

The Department of Industry and Trade of HCM City also organised a delegation of enterprises and the city's professional distribution system to connect, survey products and support the consumption of products of the western provinces and cities.

The city’s Center for Trade and Investment Promotion also organized trade promotion events, and supported the promotion, introduction, and search for output for craft village products and specialties of localities.

Regarding cooperation in the tourism sector, tourism and travel businesses in HCM City brought more than 5.7 million visitors to the Mekong Delta region last year.

In the opposite direction, the western provinces have coordinated the supply of construction materials to build HCM City Ring Road 3.

Trần Ngọc Tâm, chairman of Bến Tre Provincial People's Committee, said that since the signing of the cooperation agreement, Ben Tre agricultural products have been promoted for consumption in HCM City, and many products have entered the shelves of large supermarkets. The number of tourists from HCM City to Bến Tre has also increased beyond the level of before COVID-19 pandemic.

Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming time, Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee Hồ Văn Mùng proposed that HCM City arrange space for the Mekong Delta provinces to promote tourism and investment.

Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Phan Văn Mãi stated that from now until the end of 2025, cooperation needs to focus on infrastructure connectivity, and resources need to be prioritised to do it first.

"From now until the end of 2025, we must work with the Ministry of Transport to complete legal procedures to promote the expansion of the HCM City - Trung Lương Expressway, expand National Highway 1, National Highway 50B, and deploy coastal and border routes," Mãi said.

In addition, the HCM City's leader suggested that next year, it is necessary to restart the construction of the waterway connecting HCM City and the Mekong Delta, and at the same time, coordinate with all parties and complete legal procedures to start the HCM City - Cần Thơ railway project before 2030.

The chairman assigned the city Department of Planning and Investment to preside over and coordinate with relevant departments and agencies of HCM City and provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region to consult on cooperation plans in the near future. — VNS