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Thao Dien Station on Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien) (Photo: SGGP) |
Deputy Head Nguyen Quoc Hien of the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) the total length of urban railway in the city is 220km, in need of an investment of $25 billion. However, the capital received via Official Development Assistance (ODA) is only $6 billion.
Like other cities in the world, HCMC is exploiting its current land resources for an ecosystem along these railway routes and stations to have sufficient money for the construction.
The HCMC Department of Transport also agrees that Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in close connection with land resource exploitation is a fundamental and long-term solution for the growth of urban railway networks, environmental protection, and a decrease in traffic congestion. In addition, the TOD model is absolutely suitable for the existing context of HCMC, which is encouraging the participation of the private sector in urban development around urban railway stations.
Vice Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong said that the city is going to pilot urban growth using the TOD model when carrying out Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien Metro Line and Ben Thanh – Tham Luong Metro Line so as to maximize the use of land resources in the neighborhood of the stations. This model can bring about the maximum added values from land to offset the needed capital for upgrading traffic facilities and attract the maximum quantity of passengers to address traffic congestion problems.
MAUR informed that there are now 11 specific planning designs for the exploitation of the land resources along Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien). The HCMC Department of Planning and Architecture has proposed a careful review before completing necessary legal procedures for the registration, assessment, and approval of the total estimate.
There are also 10 planning designs for the second Metro Line (Ben Thanh – Tham Luong). Four of them have had their list approved and their investment capital announced. Another two have also had their list approved (Tao Dan Station and Bay Hien Station), and are waiting for the investment capital to be announced. Others are selecting suitable consultation units.
Deputy Director Vo Trung Truc of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment stated that HCMC People’s Committee has already greenlighted the project ‘Land Management and Guidelines for Effective Land Use in HCMC’. Accordingly, the task of retrieving the land on both sides of an infrastructure construction project for bidding and resettlement purposes has received the most support from the public and businesses as it is transparent while encouraging the participation of interested companies and increasing the city budget for urban beauty enhancement.
The TOD model has also been considered by urban traffic experts as a key method to provide surplus finance for urban renovation on the current infrastructure.
The HCMC Department of Planning and Architecture has proposed that HCMC People’s Committee locally adjust the 1/2,000 planning and draw up a separate urban design for the neighborhoods of Metro Lines’ stations for better land resource exploitation. There are now 34 areas with their own 1/500 planning. Nine of them have their list approved, their investment capital announced, and are in progress. Ten have their list approved only, and fifteen have just had their plan greenlighted.
HCMC Transport Department has informed that several infrastructure projects will be resumed thanks to the new mechanism set forth by Resolution No.98/2023/QH15 about piloting certain mechanisms and specific policies for the growth of HCMC.
The following projects will be reactivated:
_National Highway No.13 expansion project (passing Thu Duc City) to the width of 40-60m, with an estimated capital of VND12.2 trillion ($515.6 million)
_National Highway No.1 expansion project (from An Lac Roundabout to the border with Long An Province) to the width of 52m, with an estimated capital of VND12.9 trillion ($545.2 million)
_National Highway No.22 expansion project (From An Suong Intersection to Ring Road 3) to the width of 40m and two additional overpasses, with an estimated capital VND1.2 trillion ($50.7 million)
_The West-East Route construction project to link to Ring Road 3, having a length of 9.7km, with an estimated capital of VND13.8 trillion ($583.2 million)
_The North-South Route expansion project (from Au Co Street to Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park), having a length of 27km and a width of 40-60m, with an estimated capital of VND54.2 trillion ($2.3 billion)
_The parallel route to National Highway No.50, having a length of 5.8km and a width of 40m, with an estimated capital of VND3.8 trillion ($160.6 million).
In the 2005-2020, HCMC was able to mobilize social resources to complete 22 projects of different scales, worth over VND51 trillion ($2.16 billion).
