The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) Board of Directors has approved a $1.1 billion finance package for two major transportation projects in Viet Nam that will help unclog Ho Chi Minh City’s overcrowded roadways.
ADB will provide $540 million towards a $1.4 billion project to construct a second mass transit line in Ho Chi Minh City, and an additional $636 million for a $1.6 billion project to construct a modern expressway to the south of the city.
“These projects will significantly reduce traffic congestion, help lower traffic accidents, and abate carbon emissions,” said James Lynch, Director of ADB’s Transport and Urban Transport Division for Southeast Asia.
Private vehicles currently dominate Viet Nam’s transportation landscape, and in Ho Chi Minh City road infrastructure is reaching saturation point.
With the population of the greater Ho Chi Minh City area expected to grow from its current 9 million to almost 14 million by 2025, traffic will continue to intensify, particularly as more people make the switch from motorbikes to cars as incomes rise.
The 11.3-kilometer metro rail line will stretch from Ben Thanh in central Ho Chi Minh City, near the city’s largest market, out past the Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Tham Luong.
9.3 kilometers of the mass transit line will run underground, with 2 kilometers of elevated and transition track.
Approximately 213,000 passenger loadings per day are expected during the first year of operation in 2017, rising to 300,000 per day by 2020 and over 700,000 daily loadings by 2035.
The metro rail will reduce travel time along the corridor by 20% from 2010 levels, with traffic accidents expected to fall by 30%.
The ADB-backed metro rail line will be constructed in coordination with other metro rail lines being developed in Ho Chi Minh City, the first of which has been significantly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The 57-kilometer expressway between Ben Luc and Long Thanh will further alleviate traffic in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, while facilitating the transport of goods between the major ports of Ho Chi Minh City.
“Today, vehicles traveling from east to west have to pass through the heart of Ho Chi Minh City,” said Mr. Lynch. “This causes major gridlock, increases logistics costs for businesses, and measurably hinders the city’s economic growth.”
When the full expressway opens in 2017, through-traffic will be able to bypass the city center, reducing east-west travel time by 80%, with a 10% reduction in traffic accident rates.
Mindful of extreme weather and climate change, the expressway is also designed to be flood-proof, with half of the road consisting of bridges and viaducts.
The Government of Japan is expected to provide $635 million for the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway Project, with the Government of Viet Nam providing the remaining $337 million.
Other financiers of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Mass Transit Line 2 Investment Program are KfW Bankengrupe ($313 million) and the European Investment Bank ($195 million). The Government of Viet Nam is funding the remaining $326.5 million.
