Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam answered VnExpress about the difficulties in attracting investment capital for urgent traffic projects, the speed of transport infrastructure development is slower than planned.

– Ho Chi Minh City contributes nearly 30% of the national budget, is the economic engine and has the largest population in the country.

– Although the budget is still limited, in recent times the city has prioritized allocating capital to complete many key transportation projects.

According to a report from the Department of Planning and Investment, in the period 2015-2020, capital for the city’s transportation investment sector is about 59,000 billion, accounting for 39% of the city’s total investment in this period.

Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam reported to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council on the progress and effectiveness of transportation projects, June 17.

– How does this amount compare to other provinces and how much does it meet actual needs?

– At the beginning of this term, the city launched 172 traffic projects with a total investment of 373,000 billion VND.

I do not have data on transportation investment capital in other localities.

– Why is the capital budget for city transportation much lower than planned?

– From 2017 (the first year of the 2017-2020 budget stabilization period), the ratio of revenue distribution to the Ho Chi Minh City budget decreased from 23% to 18%.

In addition, the central budget spent on developing transport infrastructure in the city is still behind schedule.

Due to policy changes, mobilizing capital sources outside of the transport investment budget is also difficult.

In addition to capital difficulties, difficulties in compensation, site clearance, and resettlement have caused many traffic projects to be implemented slowly.

– What important projects cannot be implemented in Ho Chi Minh City due to lack of capital?

– The city’s goal from the beginning of the term was to close the Ring Road 2, which is 64 km long, but due to insufficient resources, only one section could be built (paragraph 3).

In addition, projects such as expanding National Highway 13 and Ung Van Khiem Street (Binh Thanh District) were initially planned to combine budget and BOT but have not been implemented.

The My Thuy intersection project (District 2) will receive priority funding to relieve congestion at Cat Lai port and connect traffic in the eastern area of the city.

– What is the current traffic situation in Ho Chi Minh City?

– The road length in the city is about 4,555 km, of which more than 2,000 km (nearly 44%) have a roadway over 7 m.

Comparing traffic indicators of Ho Chi Minh City such as: road density (road length/natural land area), ratio of traffic land area/urban construction land area are all lower than other cities.

The traffic connection between the city and neighboring provinces is not yet tight.

– What solutions does the city have to attract capital for traffic development?

-The city is reviewing to focus resources in the 2021-2025 period on a number of important and effective projects.

The City People’s Committee directs departments to review public land funds and develop projects to generate additional revenue.

To synchronously develop Ho Chi Minh City’s transportation system, the city also needs support from the Central Government through a number of contents such as: Project to increase the regulation rate for Ho Chi Minh City in the period 2021-2030;

– In the next 5-10 years, what projects will the city prioritize investing in?

– Through traffic simulation, with a population growth rate of about 200,000 people per year and a nearly 10% increase in vehicles, especially cars today (by 2025 the city will have 890 cars/1,000 people),

Among them, some seriously overloaded areas need to be quickly invested, otherwise congestion will affect economic development and people’s lives: around Tan Son Nhat airport when T3 terminal increases airport capacity