Beltway No. 3 project to get priority funding: NA chairman

The Beltway No. 3 project, which will connect HCMC, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An, will get priority access to funding so that it can be completed by 2025 and opened to traffic in 2026, said National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

A map shows the direction of Beltway No. 3 – PHOTO: LDO

At a discussion on the Beltway No. 4 project in the Hanoi City region, Beltway No. 3 in southern Vietnam and the expressways of Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot and Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang, NA Chairman Hue said Beltway No. 3 needs urgent development. It will help improve traffic connectivity between HCMC and its three neighboring provinces.

According to HCMC Chairman Phan Van Mai, the project was originally planned to be constructed through a public-private partnership but State investment was later proposed for the project, the local media reported.

The project, once in place, will help facilitate traffic in HCMC, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An, and the southern key economic zone as a whole.

Mai noted site clearance must be completed for the entire project to reduce costs and time.

HCMC and the three other provinces have eliminated unnecessary intersections along the road, so the investment cost of the project has been cut by nearly VND10 trillion from VND85 trillion.

During the execution of the project, if the project incurs cost overruns, the four localities would use their budgets to cover the overruns.

The central Government has proposed appointing contractors for some packages of the project, but the NA’s Economic Committee threw its support behind the proposal for a span of two years from the date of a resolution approving the project.

NA Chairman Hue said if contractors were chosen for the construction packages of the two ring road projects, the projects would be completed earlier than expected by several months.

However, if contractors are chosen for all packages, competition and fairness cannot be ensured. Therefore, tenders must be invited for the construction packages.

(Source:SGT)