On September 23, discussing with Lao Dong about the proposal to build a tunnel through the mountain to reduce traffic congestion, Mr. Phan Dang Toan - Secretary of Sa Pa Ward said: On average, Sa Pa national tourist area welcomes nearly 5 million tourists each year.
With an existing technical infrastructure system, there are frequent traffic jams during holidays and Tet. Therefore, solving traffic bottlenecks through the urban center is a priority of Sa Pa.
After the projects to upgrade and expand National Highway 4D, the expressway connecting route (TL155) phase 2 from Mong Sen Bridge to the National Highway 4D bypass were approved and started construction, the People's Committee of Sa Pa Ward proposed to build a road through the urban center to reduce pressure on the existing urban transport system.
The proposed route has a scale of 4 lanes connecting from the National Highway 4D bypass to TL152, connecting the communes of Ta Van, Ban Ho, Muong Bo. The entire route has a total length of 11.3 km.
In particular, the section from the National Highway 4D bypass to Thach Son route (passing through the central stadium) at the gate of the tunnel adjacent to Mau Son temple has a scale of 4 lanes, the road cross-section is 26.5 m, and the length is 4.4 km.
The tunnel has the largest cross-section in Vietnam with a width of up to 15.3 m and a length of 1.2 km passing through Ham Rong mountain connecting with the Cau May High-end Resort project.
Next is the 495m long tunnel approach road with a scale of 4 lanes, the end point is at the Truong Giang - Hang Da intersection. The fourth item is to upgrade and expand 630m of the internal road from Truong Giang Intersection connecting TL152 to ensure smooth connectivity.
Thus, when the Ham Rong Mountain tunnel project connecting TL152 is formed, it will remove traffic bottlenecks through the existing urban area of Sa Pa.
Regarding the investment form, the Secretary of Sa Pa Ward said that the project is expected to be implemented in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), specifically under the BOT form. Thus, the project will have a private investor participate with the State and have a fee collection plan to recover capital. The total investment of the project is expected to be about 2,000 billion VND.
"The collection of tolls to recover capital for this route - tunnel still ensures the right to choose for people because the current route is still maintained and free. In addition, to effectively reduce traffic congestion, Sa Pa ward is working with experts and consulting units to develop a project to develop a financial plan for the project in the direction of free housing for people with permanent residence permits in Sa Pa area," said the Secretary of Sa Pa ward.
It is expected that in the first quarter of this year, Sa Pa ward will submit to Lao Cai province for consideration and approval of the investment policy. After being approved as a basis for implementing the next steps and striving to complete and open the project by 2027.
