Born in a civilian household, crossing the paddy fields
Vành đai 4 TPHCM is approximately 200km long and passes through 5 localities in TPHCM, Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, Long An, and Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu.
In Phase 1, localities will invest in 4-lane highways and land clearance once for the completion of 8-lane highways. According to the plan agreed upon by localities, Vành đai 4 TPHCM will be invested in from 2024-2028. Specifically, Bình Dương Province is expected to break ground on the Vành đai 4 highway passing through the province during the 2.9 holiday this year.
According to the master plan, the Vành đai 4 route through TPHCM is over 17km long, passing through the Bàu Lách, Nguyễn Thị Rành, Trung Viết, and Cao Thị Bèo roads in Củ Chi District. In reality, the section passing through Bàu Lách is approximately 4.7km long, and the section passing through Nguyễn Thị Rành is approximately 2.1km long in Củ Chi District, which already has many houses and construction projects.
According to the adjusted plan chosen by TPHCM, the route goes east-southeast (left) compared to the original route in the master plan and is reduced to over 14km. The adjusted route minimizes the impact on existing urban planning projects, reduces the impact on the Củ Chi West Industrial Park Phase 2, and is the farthest from the Nguyễn Thị Rành - original route - approximately 1.1km.
The Department of Transport of TPHCM stated that the adjusted route mostly passes through agricultural land, minimizing the impact on existing roads and residential areas.
After calculation, the original route according to the master plan is approximately VND 4,000 billion, shortening the investment period. The adjusted route has approximately 486 cases of relocation, while the original route has approximately 1,150 cases of impact.
Recently, the Department of Transport of Long An Province sent a document to the Department of Transport of TPHCM (the project owner) regarding the adjustment of the route through Đức Hòa District, Long An Province. Previously, the People's Committee of Long An Province had agreed on the route through Đức Hòa District following the center of the old national highway N2, connecting with the section passing through TPHCM at the existing Thầy Cai Bridge.
However, if the Vành đai 4 highway passes through the national highway N2, the land clearance cost in Đức Hòa District is VND 21,912 billion, affecting approximately 2,880 households along the route, and the relocation of residents also faces many difficulties. Therefore, Long An Province proposed adjusting the route to be approximately 1.7km away from the national highway N2, reducing the land clearance cost to VND 8,203 billion, a decrease of over VND 13,000 billion compared to the original route passing through the national highway N2, and reducing the number of affected households to approximately 910.
A suitable approach in reality
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vũ Anh Tuấn - Director of the Vietnam Transport Science Research Center - stated that the Vành đai 4 highway plays a role in connecting transportation, promoting the development of suburban cities, and reducing traffic congestion in the TPHCM core area. Therefore, the process of determining the route is quite flexible and adaptable. When adjusting the route to minimize the section passing through densely populated areas will save costs, contribute to accelerating land clearance, and enable the project to be implemented quickly.
This is also an opportunity for the development of suburban cities, remote land, and future population dispersal. "Urban planning and development of satellite cities along the Vành đai 4 highway should also be carried out simultaneously to grasp early opportunities for economic and social development in the region, creating investment sources through land funds” - Dr. Tuấn said.
Sharing the same opinion, according to Mr. Hà Ngọc Trường - Vice Chairman of the HCMC Association of Road and Port Engineers, if we do not adjust the route to suit reality but stick to the master plan, the cost of land clearance will be very high, and the number of houses to be cleared will be very large. Not only in TPHCM but also in Long An Province, the section passing through existing roads is very long.
"The entire Vành đai 4 highway in TPHCM is over 200km long, with a very high investment cost, so the plan to minimize land clearance is very necessary. Avoiding residential areas means the project will be implemented faster" - Mr. Trường said.
