HCM City for a Modern Communication Network
With the economic growth and urbanisation of Ho Chi Minh City, the improvement of communication networks has become most pressing. However, only some projects have been started with the broadening of roads, especially those leading to the suburbs. In the past, transport relied mainly on canals, and later on most of the roads that were built on former canals, for example Ham Nghi street is on former Ca Sau (Crocodile) canal.
Main arteries
The main arteries of the city will be broadened. There are ten arteries leading to the city centre: (1) The biggest one, the Saigon - Bien Hoa highway, has been upgraded. (2) Highway 1 leading to Thu Duc - Binh Trieu will be developed with railways and Binh Trieu terminal, linking with Binh Loi road and Tan Son Nhat airport. (3) Highway 13 leading to Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and the Central Highlands has been partly upgraded with the Binh Phuoc fly-over. (4) Quang Trung road crossing District 1 and leading to Cu Chi - Tay Ninh remains in good condition. (5) Cach Mang Thang 8 - Truong Chinh road connecting with the Trans Asia road heading for Tay Ninh - Cambodia is being expanded with 10 lanes inside the city and 6 lanes in the suburbs. (6) Saigon-My Tho road heading Westward to Ca Mau will be expanded with 6 lanes and the Ben Thanh - An Lac subway. (7) The road connecting District 5 with Van Giuoc (Long An) - Go Cong (Tien Giang). (8) A new road from Ong Lanh bridge will cross Nha Be district and lead to Hiep Phuoc IZ. (9) Nguyen Tat Thanh - Binh Khanh - Can Gio road will cross Tan Thuan Bridge and shorten the distance to Can Gio. (10) Thu Thiem - Long Thanh road will be built with a new highway leading to Vung Tau, shortening the distance by 30 km and with a new international airport in Long Thanh.
The network will be completed with ring roads. The ring from Thu Duc to An Lac has been completed with a fly-over and a section of the Trans-Asia road. The ring from An Lac - Binh Dien - Nguyen Van Linh road has been opened with 6 lanes and Nguyen Van Linh road with 12 lanes leading to Phu My Hung urban area and Tan Thuan EPZ. The ring road will be completed with the building 18-20 km in Western part and Phu My Bridge across the Saigon river.
Improvement of downtown roads
In 1975, the city had only 14 bus lines. It has now nearly 200 bus lines with over 2,000 buses operating from 5 to 19 hours with some to 21 hours and ticket of VND2,000. To develop public communication, the city needs a complete network. However, as land clearance accounts for most of the budget, the development has been slowed down. Nonetheless, many roads have been expanded and bridges rebuilt such as Binh Phuoc, Binh Trieu, Nguyen Tri Phuong, Ong Lanh, Tan Thuan 2. The city has main roads from 6 lanes upward linking with ring roads and arteries namely Quang Trung, Cong Hoa, Hung Vuong, Nguyen Huu Canh, No Trang Long, Thong Nhat, Nguyen Huu Tho, Dien Bien Phu, Xoviet Nghe Tinh. Binh Trieu section of Truong Chinh road will be built into 10 lanes. The East-West avenue running from District 1 to District 6 together with Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe road will give a face lift to the urban area. To cite an example of the improvement : established in 2004, only one out of 11 wards in Tan Phu district had good roads. By mobilising the contribution of the people 70 per cent of the roads will be upgraded in 2005.
Major projects will start in 2005 such as Thu Thiem bridge, the East-West road (VND10 billion), Phu My bridge (VND1,800 billion, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia - Nguyen Van Troi road (VND852 billion), a 20km-subway (US$937 million), a 21km-monorail, from District 1 to Quang Trung software park, and a tramway from down town to West Bus Terminal (US$50 million).
It will take 10 more years for the city to complete these projects. However with determination and both local and foreign investment, the city will soon have a modern communication network.
Vietnamese
