Traffic

This is one of Hanoi’s key projects to complete Ring Road 3 and deal with congestion in the city.

A viaduct crossing Linh Dam lake was opened to traffic on October 6 with the expectation to clear a bottleneck at Hanoi’s southern entrance, Kinh Te & Do Thi reported.

Works on the viaduct crossing Linh Dam lake and connecting to Ring Road 3 started in November 2019, with a view to easing traffic burden at the Thanh Xuan and Phap Van intersections and reducing traffic jams at Nguyen Huu Tho – Giai Phong intersection and the Linh Dam area.

Director of the Hanoi Transport Construction Investment Project Management Board Pham Hoang Tuan said that the project consists of two viaducts crossing Linh Dam lake with a length of more than 541 meters and two roads connecting them to the Ring Road 3, with a total length of more than 554m.

The project was invested with over VND340 billion (US$14.78 million), Tuan added.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh said that this is one of Hanoi’s key projects to complete the Ring Road 3 and deal with congestion in the city.

“After nearly 11 months of construction, in spite of many difficulties in site clearance work, especially the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the efforts of departments and agencies, the project’s construction has come to an end,” said the Hanoi mayor.

Leaders of Hanoi and the Ministry of Transport visit the viaduct crossing Linh Dam lake.

The modern ring road plays a key role in connecting Hanoi’s downtown with Noi Bai International Airport and northern provinces.

The Mai Dich – Nam Thang Long viaduct, which is a section of Hanoi’s Ring Road 3, will be opened to traffic on October 10 to celebrate the 1,010th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi, Kinh Te & Do Thi quoted representatives of the Thang Long Project Management Board as saying on October 6.

Mai Dich – Nam Thang Long viaduct. Photo: Hoa Thang

Director of the Thang Long Project Management Board Duong Viet Roan said that works on the project have finished and the viaduct can be put into operation on October 10, the 66th anniversary of Hanoi’s Liberation Day (October 10, 1954 – 2020) and the 17th Congress of the city Party.

Project Executive Director of the Thang Long Project Management Board Pham Anh Tu said that the Mai Dich – Nam Thang Long viaduct has a total length of 5.367 km with four lanes meeting highway standards, each lane is 3.75m wide to allow speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

The total investment is over VND5.3 trillion (US$228.9 million) funded by ODA loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and local reciprocal capital, Tu added.

He noted that after the main viaduct is opened to traffic, the contractors will proceed to build six on and off ramps which are expected to be completed by December.

The construction of the Mai Dich – Nam Thang Long section kicked off in May 2018, its total length includes the ramps of more than 5km and the elevated section of nearly 4.6km.

This road section has completed the beltway, making it a closed-hoop circle, contributing to reducing congestion on busy roads such as Pham Van Dong, Hoang Quoc Viet, Nguyen Hoang Ton, among others.

Besides, elevated Ring Road 3 plays a key role in connecting Hanoi’s downtown with Noi Bai International Airport and northern provinces.

People’s mobility, on average, is almost back to normal in Vietnam.

As domestic travel restrictions have been loosened in most Asian countries, Hanoi has seen the largest increase in air traffic in the Southeast Asian region, thanks to increased domestic tourism, according to HSBC.

Data show that, despite governments loosening some restrictions in recent weeks, mobility across ASEAN remains largely constrained compared to pre-pandemic levels. Vietnam, however, is an exception, with the people’s mobility, on average, is almost back to normal, stated HSBC in its latest report.

Meanwhile, given continued restrictions on international travel, governments are likely to focus more closely on domestic tourism in the months ahead. This suggests there is unlikely a V-shaped recovery in foreign tourism numbers until most countries globally see a persistent decline in their infection rates.

According to HSBC, “travel bubble” is now the new buzzword in Asia, as most countries appear to have Covid-19 under control. Broadly speaking, a “travel bubble” would allow residents of certain places – with a low number of Covid-19 cases – to travel freely across borders without undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Although the implementation of these “travel bubbles” remains in the early stages, four countries in ASEAN are potential candidates, namely Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. These countries appear to have “flattened the curve” when it comes to new infections, even after loosening some of their lockdown restrictions.

Plans to re-open borders speak to people and governments’ desire to regain a sense of normality, in addition to restoring economic activity. Many countries in Asia have been on lockdown for about three months, leading to greater isolation and significant job losses. In April, the Philippines reported its highest unemployment rate on record at 17.7%.

Nevertheless, a partial re-opening of borders could help restore some jobs, particularly in tourism/FDI-reliant industries.

For this year, HSBC forecast the economy of ASEAN – 6 (including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) to shrink by 3.8% year-on-year.

Vietnam’s economy is predicted to grow at the highest rate in the region in 2020 and 2021, expanding at 1.6% and 9.1% year-on-year, respectively.

The Thu Duc City People’s Council in the 2016 – 2021 term yesterday hosted the fourth session to review the city’s socio- economic development plan including budget estimates and public investment plan in the year of 2021.

Mentioning the socio-economic development plan in 2021, Deputy Chairman Nguyen Bach Hoang Phung talked about the specific goals such as state budget collection of over VND8,327 billion (US$ 362.06 million).

Total investment taken from the state budget is expected to reach VND1,080 billion, including VND200 billion from the budget of central government (for compensation of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City project), VND534 billion from the city budget, VND170 billion from the Central allocation to HCMC and from Thu Duc City budget, plus loan of VND176 billion. The rate of disbursement for investment in basic construction has been 95 percent.

In 2021, Thu Duc City authority aims to plant 250,000 trees as well as complete its general plan for submission to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee with the orientation towards a smart, innovative and highly interactive city.

Simultaneously, the newly-established city ensures all of construction sites to be inspected as per regulations and violators will receive proper punishment.

With regard to administrative reform, the city strives to solve 98 percent of paperworks in a timely manner except those in the fields of land and investment and to reduce the rate of lately solved paperwork in the fields of land and investment to 4 percent. The city administration tries to win resident satisfaction of 91 percent up.

This year, Thu Duc administration also asserted to finish 15 major projects as well as kick off 16 other new projects.

In the session, participants complained about many key traffic projects falling behind schedule including bridges Tang Long, Long Dai, and Nam Ly. These sluggish bridge projects in populated areas have resulted in regular congestion in the areas.

Participants at the meeting also proposed Thu Duc administrators to petition for a special mechanism for its overall development and land compensation.

The highlights of the programs and projects to develop Thu Duc City in the phase from 2020-2025 are the projects on building special mechanisms, urban administration and general plan for Thu Duc.

Participants approved the budget estimates for collection and expenses in 2021, totalling VND8,227 billion and VND3,155 billion respectively.

This vehicle camera footage shows two traffic police officers opening the way for a car carrying a woman in labor and her child to the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, March 26, 2021.