Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi wharf becomes a riverside cultural space
The simultaneous commencement of projects is a highlight in a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the honorable Saigon - Gia Dinh city named after President Ho Chi Minh (July 2, 1976 - July 2, 2026).
The highlight is the Ben Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi Cultural Park and Ben Bach Dang Public Greenery project with a scale of about 73.3ha, total investment of more than 29,317 billion VND under the BT (build - transfer) contract form.
For many years, the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi wharf area and the southern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City have frequently fallen into congestion due to the increasing traffic volume, while the infrastructure system has not kept up with the pace of urban development. Nguyen Tat Thanh Street will be expanded from 4 to 10 lanes, new Tan Thuan 1 bridge will be built, Tan Thuan 2 bridge will be expanded, and Hoang Dieu underpass will be built.
The Bach Dang wharf area will be invested in underground parking lots and underground commercial centers. The project will build a pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River, connecting Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi wharf with Bach Dang wharf.
Not only solving the traffic problem, the project also aims to build a large-scale cultural and historical space at Nha Rong Wharf - the place marking the event on June 5, 1911 when young man Nguyen Tat Thanh left to find a way to save the country.
The focus is Ben Nha Rong Cultural Park connected to the project to renovate and embellish the campus of the Ho Chi Minh Museum - Ho Chi Minh City Branch. Port and riverside warehouse areas will be converted into parks, squares, pedestrian paths, sightseeing areas and spaces for organizing cultural and artistic activities.
Mr. Dang Minh Truong - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Group (project investor) - said that Sun Group does not aim to create a new symbol to replace existing values, but wants to preserve, continue history, respect heritage, revive landscapes and nurture new values so that heritage is vividly present in contemporary life.
Shorten the time from Can Gio to Vung Tau to 10 minutes
Another prominent project is the Can Gio - Vung Tau sea-crossing road with a preliminary total investment of more than 93,000 billion VND under the BT contract.
The route is about 14km long, including nearly 1.9km of access roads, more than 8km of sea bridges and more than 3.8km of sea tunnels, designed with a scale of 6 motorized lanes and expected to be completed in 2029.
Ms. Tran Van Anh - Deputy General Director of Vingroup Group (project investor) - said that when completed, the route will shorten the travel time between Can Gio and Vung Tau to about 10 minutes, creating a breakthrough for trade, tourism development, logistics and improving the quality of people's lives.
In addition to the above two projects, 6 other projects also simultaneously started construction, including: Ho Tram - Long Thanh expressway (46,918 billion VND); Cai Mep Ha general and container port (50,820 billion VND); Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai expressway (phase 1 - total capital of 22,975 billion VND); Binh Tien bridge and road (6,300 billion VND); Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway intersection with Rung Sac road (2,969 billion VND); Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway intersection with National Highway 50 (590 billion VND).
Creating a foundation for a new growth era
Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Hoang Nguyen Dinh emphasized that the 8 projects started are strategic pieces in the overall infrastructure development picture, contributing to realizing the goal of building a fast, sustainable and internationally competitive Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Mr. Hoang Nguyen Dinh, the Ben Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi cultural park and Ben Bach Dang public green tree project, when completed, will become a regional-scale cultural, historical and tourist space, while contributing to landscape embellishment, modern riverside infrastructure development, connecting the past with the present and future, preserving historical values in parallel with the dynamic development of Ho Chi Minh City.
Regarding transport projects, leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee believe that Ho Tram - Long Thanh expressway, Can Gio - Vung Tau sea-crossing road, Binh Tien bridge and road and intersections on the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway will contribute to removing traffic bottlenecks, expanding development space towards the sea, strengthening connectivity with the southern key economic region and Long Thanh International Airport. The Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai expressway will expand the Northwest gateway, strengthening links with ASEAN countries through the road transport system.
Ho Chi Minh City shows determination to enter a new stage of development
Dr. Vo Kim Cuong - former Deputy Chief Architect of Ho Chi Minh City, assessed that Ho Chi Minh City's choice of the 50th anniversary of the city named after Uncle Ho to simultaneously start 8 key projects not only has the meaning of celebrating a historical event but also shows the determination to enter a new stage of development.
He believes that for many years, transport infrastructure has always been the biggest "bottleneck" hindering Ho Chi Minh City's development speed. The projects just started are aimed at solving core bottlenecks, from inter-regional connectivity, marine economic development to urban embellishment and riverside space exploitation.
Dr. Tran Quang Thang - Director of the Institute of Economics and Management of Ho Chi Minh City assessed that the 8 projects started are not only meaningful to Ho Chi Minh City but also impact the entire key economic region in the South.
Highways, sea crossings, seaports and new intersections will expand the city's development space, increase connectivity with Long Thanh airport, Cai Mep - Thi Vai port system, Southeast provinces and ASEAN economic corridors.
According to Mr. Thang, if implemented on schedule, these projects will create a strong spillover effect, attract investment, reduce logistics costs, improve business competitiveness and form new growth poles for the entire Southeast region.
