On October 24, the construction site of the road connecting Pham Van Dong Avenue to Go Dua intersection, Thu Duc City, was quiet. This is the third of four sections of the unfinished Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 2, which has been suspended since 2020.
Unfinished projects are covered with weeds and become abandoned after a long period of stagnation, while many spontaneous shortcuts have appeared around the area, serving the travel needs of local people.
The project started in 2017 with a total investment of more than 2,700 billion VND in the form of BT (build - transfer), with Van Phu Bac Ai Joint Stock Company as the investor.
The project is over 2.7km long, with a land clearance scale of 67m wide and construction of two parallel roads with 3 lanes on each side, the land in the middle is reserved for future implementation items.
According to the original plan, this road section was expected to be completed in 2020, helping to connect the two main axes of Pham Van Dong and National Highway 1, significantly reducing the distance having to go around routes such as Linh Dong and National Highway 13.
However, since March 2020, the project has been stalled due to problems in site clearance and land fund payment to investors.
At the end of January 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee decided to postpone the project completion deadline until 2026.
According to a report by Van Phu Bac Ai Company, the prolonged payment procedures have caused the project’s bank loan interest to increase to more than 600 billion VND, putting great pressure on investors. The company is currently paying more than 14 billion VND in interest each month, causing the total cost of the project to increase and causing damage to the budget.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has directed departments and branches to review procedures for negotiating and signing an appendix to adjust the BT contract, and at the same time develop a payment process for investors to remove difficulties and restart the project.
According to the latest report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, the actual value of the project as confirmed by the State Audit as of August 31, 2019 was 1,272.8 billion VND, including 372 billion VND in construction costs and more than 900 billion VND in compensation, support and resettlement costs.
The interdisciplinary working group in charge of the project met and agreed to recommend that in the immediate future, it may consider paying the audited construction value, in order to reduce costs arising from loan interest and support businesses to overcome difficulties.
Regarding the payment land fund, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City is reviewing and proposing payment land areas for investors.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board, the site handover will be completed in December 2024 and the project can restart in early 2025.
If everything goes according to plan, this 6-lane road will be completed in 2026, playing an important role in relieving traffic pressure for Thu Duc City area, contributing to closing Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 2.
