HCM CITY —  The Sài Gòn Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO) has broken ground for construction of the new Eastern Bus Terminal (Bến Xe Miền Đông) in HCM City’s District 9.

The terminal complex, which will include convenience services, will be located in Long Bình Ward in District 9 and in the southern province of Bình Dương’s Dĩ An Town, the SAMCO announced on Wednesday.

The new Eastern Bus Terminal will cover an area of 16 hectares, three times as large compared with the existing Eastern Bus Terminal in HCM City’s Bình Thạnh District.

It will include 12.3 hectares in HCM City’s outlying District 9 and the remaining 3.7ha in Dĩ An Town of Bình Dương Province.

The bus terminal will be connected with metro line No 1, linking Bến Thành Terminal in District 1 with Suối Tiên Terminal in District 9.

It is designed to accommodate more than seven million passengers each year who travel to eastern provinces as well as to localities in the central region and north Việt Nam, the SAMCO said.

It will also provide services to some 21,000 passengers and accommodate 1,200 buses per day.

The figures are expected to increase to 52,000 passengers and 1,800 buses per day on holidays and during the traditional Tết (Lunar New Year) festival.

Construction of the first stage of the project, which includes the main station, parking space and infrastructure facilities, is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

The new bus terminal will help ensure traffic order of HCM City and wipe out illegal bus services and parking spaces in the city.

Located on an area between HCM City and Bình Dương Province, the new Eastern Bus Terminal is expected to play an important role in the city’s transportation system, according to SAMCO.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Lê Văn Khoa, deputy chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, said the new terminal complex would link urban areas with public transportation networks and include multi-story parking spaces, maintenance areas, fuel stations, cargo depots, and commercial centres.

The new bus terminal is expected to reduce traffic congestion and the number of accidents in the city through 2020.

It will also replace the existing Eastern Bus Station which is in an inner city district and is no longer suitable for the city’s urban development plan.

The terminal complex will also help facilitate transportation between HCM City and neighbouring provinces, said Khoa.

He also asked authorities to create favourable conditions so that SAMCO could complete construction for the first stage and open the new terminal later this year.

Tăng Thu Lý, deputy director general of SAMCO, said that total capital for the project amounted to VNĐ773 billion (US$34.5 million). — VNS