HCM City aims to reduce seaport traffic jams
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has asked the Department of Transport to seek measures to tackle traffic jams at 37 traffic-congestion hotspots across the city, including those at seaports.
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The ports will be moved from districts 4 and 7 to Hiep Phuoc Port in the near future.
Of the 37 traffic-congestion hotpots in the city, Cat Lai Port area has three heavy traffic-congestion hotspots, which can last up to many hours per day, according to the Department of Transport.
The My Thuy intersection at Dong Van Cong and Nguyen Thi Dinh streets in district 2 is a hotspot for traffic accidents.
Bui Van Quan, Chairman of the HCM City Cargo Association, said that prolonged traffic congestion caused transport costs to increase, with only one container ship per day from Cat Lai to factories. It formerly carried two trips per day.
Quan said the heavy traffic jams at Cat Lai were due to its location in the Thu Thiem new urban area, instead of industrial parks.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transport has asked to speed up construction of the overpass at the My Thuy intersection so that it can open to traffic by November.
A director at Tan Thuan Industrial Development One-Member Co., Ltd., which manages Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Nha Be district, said the authorities should learn from the lessons of heavy traffic jams in Cat Lai Port.
HCM City has 37 congestion hotspots, including six in the city centre, six near Tan Son Nhat airport, and three at Cat Lai Port, among others.
Roads leading near Cat Lai Port recently suffered a 13-hour traffic jam, the most serious congestion this year.
To resolve the problem, the construction of new roads at the intersection of Nguyen Thi Dinh and Vo Chi Cong streets has been proposed.
In addition, Phu My Bridge needs to be expanded to ease frequent congestion.
Meanwhile, traffic jams at roads near Tan Son Nhat airport are expected to be relieved, owing to the completion of two flyovers by the end of this month.
Traffic congestion has become a critical issue in HCM City, which has more than 1,000 newly registered vehicles a day.
By the end of March last year, the city had more than 7.5 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 6.77 percent , according to the Department of Transport.
Millions of vehicles from other provinces also contribute to traffic congestions every day, the department said.
