On the afternoon of November 6, at a press conference on the socio-economic situation, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction informed about the main causes of traffic jams and the progress of projects under implementation.
According to the Department of Construction, Ho Chi Minh City is facing 6 main causes of traffic jams in the city, including:
Traffic is too large, especially private cars and motorbikes during rush hour.
Transport infrastructure has not yet met the speed of urbanization and travel needs. Many roads have narrow crossings, intersections have not been renovated synchronously, and lack public parking.
Many projects under construction on existing routes occupy the road surface, narrowing traffic lanes, causing local congestion.
Encroaching on sidewalks and roads for business and parking, forcing people to stop in the middle of the road, affecting traffic.
Traffic accidents and vehicle incidents have not been handled promptly, causing congestion in the line.
Traffic participants' awareness is still limited, violating regulations on stopping, encroaching on lanes, entering prohibited roads... are still common.
To overcome this situation, Ho Chi Minh City is focusing resources on a series of large-scale infrastructure projects in both the central area and gateways.
In the area of the Eastern and Northeastern gateways, the city is constructing Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3, Tan Van intersection, An Phu intersection and completing My Thuy intersection.
At the Northwest gateway, the city will deploy the Nga Tu Dinh intersection (the intersection between National Highway 1 and Nguyen Van Qua), helping to relieve traffic flow in and out of this area.
The southern gateway and the National Highway 50 upgrade and expansion project are being accelerated to open to traffic by the end of this year, helping to reduce traffic congestion and increase connectivity with the Western provinces.
In the central area, the Nguyen Khoi bridge project (connecting the South and the center) is preparing to start construction and be completed in 2027, helping to reduce the load on Nguyen Tat Thanh, Nguyen Huu Tho streets, and Kenh Te bridge - artery routes that are often congested during rush hour.
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City will start Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) at the end of this year; speed up the two routes along the Tham Luong - Ben Cat canal.
Ho Chi Minh City is also preparing to invest in strategic projects such as Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4, Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai Expressway and Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway connecting to Long Thanh International Airport; 4 projects to upgrade and expand National Highway 1, 13, 22 and the North - South axis road under the BOT (build - operate - transfer) form.
In the long term, the Department of Construction said it will coordinate with departments and branches to advise the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to develop a plan for developing transport infrastructure for the period 2026 - 2030, ensuring synchronization of the road, railway and public transport networks.
The city is also preparing to invest in 9 urban railway lines (including 2 lines connecting to the former Binh Duong province), continuing to implement the Project to enhance public passenger transport combined with private vehicle control - a key solution to reduce traffic congestion sustainably.
At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City is developing a project to develop smart cities for the period 2026 - 2030, including the content of applying the Internet of Things (IoT) in the field of smart transportation, to optimize the operation, monitoring and regulation of urban traffic in real time.
