On December 5, the HCM City Traffic Construction Investment Management Board said that the Nguyen Khoi bridge project is facing difficulties due to the incomplete site clearance and adjustment of local planning of 1/2,000 scale subdivision projects in related wards in District 1, District 4 and District 7.
These problems have prevented the project from completing the feasibility study report to submit to the competent authority for approval.
Although the project was allocated 770 billion VND in 2023 to carry out compensation and site clearance, this amount has not yet been disbursed due to incomplete legal procedures.
According to the original plan, Ho Chi Minh City planned to start construction of some bridge and road projects in District 1 in the fourth quarter of this year. By 2025, all compensation and site clearance work will be completed and fully handed over to the project for construction implementation.
The project is expected to be completed in 2027, contributing to improving traffic and connectivity between central districts and the southern area of the city.
According to Mr. Trinh Linh Phuong - Deputy Director of the HCM City Traffic Construction Investment Management Board, the new plan is to submit for approval the feasibility study report and compensation and resettlement support plan before December 25, 2024. It is expected that the compensation fund will be disbursed before January 15, 2025.
The next stages include approval of construction design in April 2025, completion of site clearance in June 2025 and commencement of construction in July 2025.
Currently, from Nha Be area, District 7 to the center of Ho Chi Minh City through District 1 and District 4, there are only two main roads: Nguyen Huu Tho - Kenh Te bridge and Huynh Tan Phat - Tan Thuan bridge - Nguyen Tat Thanh. Both of these roads are often overloaded, causing serious traffic jams, especially during rush hour.
Since 2016, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has approved the policy of building Nguyen Khoi bridge with a total investment of 1,250 billion VND (later increased to more than 2,800 billion VND due to scale adjustment). However, for the next 7 years, the project is still on paper due to lack of capital.
At the end of 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council adjusted the investment policy of the Nguyen Khoi bridge project, increasing the total capital to more than VND 3,700 billion. Of which, more than VND 1,000 billion was reserved for compensation and site clearance in District 4, where 148 cases were affected, including 25 organizations and 123 households.
The project has a total length of nearly 5 km, of which the bridge section is about 2.5 km, 6.5 - 25.5 m wide; the road section is more than 2.3 km long, 26.5 - 61.5 m wide.
The project starts from D1 Street (connecting Saigon University with Nguyen Van Linh Street and Him Lam residential area, District 7), then the main bridge crosses Te Canal by overpass along Nguyen Khoi Street. The bridge continues to cross Ben Nghe Canal, connecting to Vo Van Kiet Street (District 1).
In addition to the main route, the project includes branches connecting to the lower roads of Tran Xuan Soan, Ton That Thuyet and Vo Van Kiet.
