HCM City urged to improve transport infrastructure

Dong said even though HCM City was Vietnam’s key economic hub, its road infrastructure left lots to be desired and this was an obstacle to the city's development. HCM City must quickly finish slow road and metro projects including Ring Road 3 and the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway.

"HCM City's infrastructure is a far cry from Hanoi's. In Hanoi, all roads entering the city are wide, there are routes to various provinces and the closed ring roads helps make travel to the airport easily. HCM City doesn't have closed ring roads and the road and traffic to Tan Son Nhat Airport is a huge problem," he said.

He urged the quick completion of Ring Road 2 and deal with difficulties in the construction of Ring Road 3 that play an important role in the city's and the region's traffic planning and economic development.

"There's congestion whenever goods are brought in from Cat Lai Port. There's hours-long traffic jams every few days. The damage to the economy is immeasurable," he said.

HCM City needs fund from the government to complete the Ring Road 3 and the metro line. Currently, the city is trying to improve the traffic around Tan Son Nhat Airport by government directive.

He said, "With a population of over ten million, HCM City needs its own urban railway network. Only three million-plus population cities already have metro lines."

Dong also constantly urged the government to give additional ODA to key traffic projects. With the current slow disbursement rate, contractors had sued and demanded the city to pay them interest. If no money is forthcoming, contractors may stop working or the project completion dates will be delayed by two years to 2022.

The Ministry of Transport will prioritise on-going construction and give the contractors funds first to complete the projects on time, ensuring the good relations with other countries and credits institutes.