On the afternoon of February 20, at the 21st thematic session, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council approved the investment policy for 4 major transport projects under the BOT (build - operate - transfer) form.
The expanded routes include National Highway 1, National Highway 13, National Highway 22 and the North - South axis. These are all vital routes, playing an important role in connecting the inner city with neighboring provinces, reducing traffic pressure and promoting economic development.
Of the total capital of more than 57,000 billion VND, the state budget participates in about 35,600 billion VND, the rest is arranged by investors.
When the projects are completed, the collection of tolls will last from 18 to 23 years depending on each project.
National Highway 13: Widen 60m combined with elevated road
The project to expand National Highway 13 through Thu Duc City is the project with the largest total investment capital, nearly 21,000 billion VND. The route will be expanded to 60m with 10 lanes, and an elevated road section of more than 3 km will be built in the middle of the route, helping to reduce congestion and increase traffic capacity.
The starting point of the project is at Binh Trieu Bridge, the end point is adjacent to Binh Duong, with a total length of nearly 6 km. Of the total investment, the state budget contributes about VND 14,600 billion, the remaining VND nearly VND 6,300 billion is arranged by investors. It is expected that the project will collect tolls to recover capital within 18 years and 4 months after completion.
National Highway 1: Expanded to 10 - 12 lanes
At the western gateway, the National Highway 1 expansion project has a total length of nearly 10 km, from the Kinh Duong Vuong intersection to the border of Long An.
Currently, this route only has 6 lanes, but after upgrading, it will be expanded to 60 m with 10-12 lanes.
The project is designed with 6-8 lanes for express vehicles in the middle of the route (speed of 80 km/h) for toll collection vehicles, while the two parallel roads on both sides have a speed of 60 km/h and do not collect tolls.
The total investment is about VND 16,285 billion, of which more than VND 9,600 billion is from the budget, the rest is mobilized by investors. The fee collection period is expected to last 21 years and 11 months.
National Highway 22: Reducing congestion in the Northwest
The project to upgrade National Highway 22, the main route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Tay Ninh, has a total investment of VND10,424 billion. The 8 km long route, from An Suong intersection to Ring Road 3, will be expanded to 60m with 10 lanes.
Major intersections on the route will be built at different levels to reduce traffic conflicts.
This project is also designed with 4 lanes running fast (80 km/h) in the middle and lanes running fast at 60 km/h on both sides. Investors plan to collect tolls for 23 years and 7 months to recover capital.
North - South axis: Connecting the southern urban area with Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway
The final BOT project in this plan is the expansion of the North - South axis (Nguyen Huu Tho Street), from Nguyen Van Linh Avenue to Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway. The 8.6km long route, expanded to 60 m with 10 lanes, helps improve the connection between the city center and urban areas and southern seaports.
The total investment of the project is about 9,894 billion VND, of which more than 5,200 billion VND is arranged by the investor. It is expected that the payback fee collection period will last 22 years and 1 month.
