Heavy traffic on a section of Mai Chí Thọ Street in HCM City. Infrastructure upgrades, including the completion of Ring Road No. 2 by late 2027, are being fast-tracked to ease urban congestion and boost regional socio-economic connectivity. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

HCM CITY — HCM City is accelerating land clearance and construction on two key component sections of Ring Road No. 2, aiming to complete the route through the former Thủ Đức City area and fully close the ring road loop by the end of 2027.

Major construction packages for sections 1 and 2 are scheduled to begin in August under the management of the HCM City Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority (TCIP). 

The two sections represent a total construction investment of over VNĐ5.2 trillion (US$205 million) funded from the municipal budget, excluding compensation, site clearance, and resettlement costs.

Section 1 spans over 3.5 kilometres from Phú Hữu Bridge to Võ Nguyên Giáp Street, with a construction budget of VNĐ2.65 trillion ($104.5 million).

Section 2 extends roughly 2.45 km from Võ Nguyên Giáp Street to Phạm Văn Đồng Street, costing VNĐ2.59 trillion ($101.9 million).

Both projects are undergoing unified land clearance to a planned width of 67 metres, implemented in two phases.

Phase 1 will construct parallel side roads on both sides, each featuring three lanes and a six-metre sidewalk.

A central 31-metre median will be reserved for Phase 2, which will add a six-lane main expressway along with major interchanges, flyovers, and underpasses to enhance regional connectivity.

Contractors are currently operating 15 construction teams with hundreds of workers on site.

Complex structural foundations, such as bored piles, concrete pouring, and cement-fly ash soil compaction, are running around the clock in three shifts.

The main roadway packages, initiated in December last year, are slated for completion in the second quarter of 2027, with initial asphalt paving expected on cleared land by late 2026.

Construction on the underpasses and flyovers at the Ring Road 2–Phạm Văn Đồng interchange starts this month, with completion scheduled for December, 2027.

Work on the Bình Thái interchange package is expected to commence in October.

Overcoming hurdles to meet deadlines

Site clearance remains the primary challenge, with several non-handed-over plots delaying synchronised construction.  

Furthermore, rising material costs driven by global and domestic fuel price fluctuations since late March, alongside a national shortage of skilled technical labour, have exerted cost and supply pressures on the projects.

To ensure the schedule, the TCIP is conducting weekly progress reviews on site and coordinating with local authorities to expedite land acquisition.

It has requested municipal agencies to hand over all remaining land for early road sections within August 2026, and land for the major interchanges by September 2026.

Lê Ngọc Hùng, deputy director of TCIP, said contractors would be instructed to mobilise additional manpower and equipment as soon as land is handed over to meet the late-2027 deadline.

Upon completion, sections 1 and 2 will link with Section 3, a 2.75km BOT project running from Phạm Văn Đồng Street to Gò Dưa Interchange.

Construction on section 3 recently resumed after a five-year delay, with local authorities aiming for technical traffic clearance by the end of 2026.

Ring Road No. 2 has a total planned length of nearly 64 km, of which around 50 km are currently operational.

Closing the remaining sections, including the yet-to-be-deployed 5.3-km section 4 from National Highway No. 1 to Nguyễn Văn Linh Street, remains vital to relieving inner-city congestion and improving freight transport to seaports across the region. — VNS