Streets leading to Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City. VNA/VNS.Photo Xuân Tình.

HCM CITY — HCM City plans a number of traffic infrastructure works around Tân Sơn Nhất Airport to cope with the whopping 50 million passengers it is expected to handle annually by 2023 when its T3 terminal is completed.

Construction of the terminal will start in October 2021, and it will have a capacity of 20 million passengers.

According to detailed planning approved by the city, a street with four to six lanes will be built to link Trần Quốc Hoàn Street with Cộng Hòa Street, Phan Thúc Duyện, 18E, C2, and C12.

Hoàng Hoa Thám and Thân Nhân Trung streets will be widened.

Flyovers will be built from Phan Thúc Duyện Street to Trần Quốc Hoàn Street and Thăng Long Street to near the Chảo Lửa football stadium to access terminal T3.   

Trường Chinh Street, Tân Kỳ Tân Quý and Tân Sơn will also be upgraded and widened.

But Phan Công Bằng, deputy head of the city Department of Transport, said widening of Hoàng Hoa Thám, Cộng Hòa, Trường Chinh, and Tân Kỳ Tân Quý streets are behind schedule.

Work on the first two was approved in 2016, but has not started yet.  

According to the Management Board for Traffic Work Construction and Investment Project of HCM City, the widening of Hoàng Hoa Thám Street at a cost of VNĐ254 billion (US$10.9 million) is expected to start this year and take only six months.

Most of the work has been delayed because of difficulties related to payment for land compensation.

The city administration has instructed relevant agencies to address these difficulties and speed up the work.

Under a 2016-20 plan to reduce congestion and accidents in areas around the airport, the city has built several flyovers and streets.

They include flyovers on Trường Sơn Street and at the intersection of Nguyễn Kiệm - Nguyễn Oanh - Phạm Văn Đồng - Nguyễn Thái Sơn streets, which constantly used to suffer from traffic jams.

Phạm Văn Đồng Street, running through the districts of Gò Vấp, Bình Thạnh and Thủ Đức and the artery connecting the city’s north-eastern areas with the centre, was built in 2013 to also help ease congestion near the airport.

Last year the number of passengers using the airport was nearly 40 million, way above its designed capacity, and its surrounding areas struggled with constant congestion. — VNS