At the fourth session of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council on morning of August 27, the municipal People’s Committee submitted a proposal for consideration and approval of adjustments to the investment policy for the project to repair and upgrade Provincial Road No. 9 (Ha Duy Phien Road).
The project’s investment policy was approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council in 2016 under the name “Repair and Upgrade of Provincial Road No. 9 (Ha Duy Phien Road)” and was originally planned for the former Cu Chi District.
The project covered a 4,187-meter section with a 32-meter cross-section and had a total investment of about VND1.135 trillion (US$43.7 million), with implementation scheduled for 2019-2021.
However, the project has yet to receive investment approval from the competent authorities. The municipal People’s Committee has proposed adjustments to several aspects, including the project name, investor, location, scale, total investment, project classification and implementation period.
Under the proposal, the project would be renamed “Upgrade and Widen Provincial Road No. 9 (Ha Duy Phien Road and Dang Thuc Vinh Road).” Its investment scope would be expanded from the original 4,187-meter section with a 32-meter cross-section to 7,480 meters with a 40-meter cross-section. The project would be implemented in Binh My and Dong Thanh communes.
The total investment is proposed to increase from VND1.135 trillion (US$43.7 million) to approximately VND5.268 trillion (US$202.6 million), an increase of more than VND4.123 trillion (US$158.6 million). The project would also be reclassified from Group B to Group A.
According to the municipal People’s Committee, the increase in total investment is attributable to the expanded investment scope and scale, the larger area requiring site clearance, higher construction costs, inflation, increases in labor and machinery costs, and other related expenses.
Compensation, support, resettlement and relocation of technical infrastructure are estimated to cost about VND2.061 trillion (US$79.3 million), while construction costs are projected at VND2.388 trillion (US$91.8 million) and contingency costs at about VND676 billion (US$26 million), along with expenses for project management, construction investment consultancy and other costs.
Along with the increase in scale and total investment, the municipal People’s Committee has proposed extending the project implementation period from 2019-2021 to 2026-2031.
The investment is aimed at gradually completing the transport network in line with planning, easing congestion, improving transport capacity and creating momentum for socio-economic development in Binh My and Dong Thanh communes as well as northern Ho Chi Minh City.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has also submitted two proposals to the municipal People’s Council seeking approval to adjust the investment policies for the Phu My 2 Bridge project under the public-private partnership (PPP) model and the project to upgrade and widen Nguyen Thi Tu Road from National Highway 1A to Vinh Loc Industrial Park.
The Phu My 2 Bridge project is considered a key transport project that would connect southern Ho Chi Minh City with the city’s southern area, Dong Nai City and Long Thanh International Airport.
Once completed, the project is expected to improve traffic distribution, ease congestion on the existing Phu My Bridge, National Highways 1 and 51, and the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay route, while shortening travel times and reducing logistics costs.
Under the new plan, the estimated value of the land fund used for payment would be about VND14.9884 trillion (US$576.5 million), down VND94.8 billion (US$3.6 million) from the previous estimate of approximately VND15.083 trillion (US$580.1 million).
Meanwhile, the portion to be paid from the city budget would increase from about VND5.807 trillion (US$223.3 million) to approximately VND6.903 trillion (US$265.5 million), an increase of VND1.095 trillion (US$42.1 million).
The municipal People’s Committee has proposed adjusting the project to a Build-Transfer (BT) contract, with payments made through a combination of land and the city budget. The estimated land-based payment would be about VND14.988 trillion (US$576.5 million), while the remaining VND6.903 trillion (US$265.5 million) would be paid from the city budget if the land fund is insufficient to cover the investor’s payment.
The preliminary total investment is expected to be adjusted to approximately VND21.891 trillion (US$842 million), including interest accrued during construction.
For the Nguyen Thi Tu Road upgrade and widening project, the investment policy was approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council in 2015 with a total investment of VND970 billion (US$37.3 million). The original project involved widening an approximately 800-meter section to a 40-meter cross-section with eight lanes.
The municipal People’s Committee has proposed expanding the investment scope to approximately 2,400 meters of road with a 40-meter cross-section. It also proposes constructing a new elevated road section at the end of the route where it intersects with Vinh Loc Road. The new structure would be about 600 meters long and have a 10-meter cross-section.
Following the adjustment, the project’s estimated total investment would reach VND6,471.55 billion (US$248.9 million), an increase of more than VND5.5 trillion (US$211.5 million) from the previously approved amount. The main reasons are the expanded investment scope and scale, increased compensation and site-clearance costs, higher construction costs and updated cost factors in accordance with current regulations.
The project would also be reclassified from Group B to Group A. The implementation period for the Nguyen Thi Tu Road project is proposed to be adjusted from 2016-2021 to 2026-2031.
The municipal People’s Committee said the adjustments are intended to reflect actual conditions, ensure synchronized transport infrastructure in the area, meet travel demand, help ease congestion and improve connectivity.
Under the new plan, Nguyen Thi Tu Road would connect from the intersection with Le Duc Anh Road in Binh Tan Ward to the intersection with Vinh Loc Road in Tan Vinh Loc Commune.
