Seminar on traffic jams held in Hanoi

The proposals include an urban transport project, the organization of traffic, and the use of public transport to help relieve congested streets.

The seminar was attended by Prof. Vu Van Hien, General Director of the Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), Major General Le The Tiem, Deputy Minister of Public Security, Mr. Le Manh Hung, Deputy Minister of Transport and senior officials from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Addressing the seminar, Prof. Vu Van Hien said traffic jams are an international problem which results inevitably from poor infrastructure and has negative impact on the socio-economic development of big cities.

According to Prof. Hien, the proposals discussed at this seminar will help the government gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem and draw up proper solutions.

The VOV Traffic Information channel proposed two projects to reduce traffic jams on National High Way 1.

Major General Le The Tiem spoke highly of these proposals and praised them for being quite practical.

The Major General said that in order to solve the problem, more measures are needed such as improving the effectiveness of directing traffic, clearing congestion, boosting the application of science and technology, promoting traffic monitoring, imposing heavy fines on violators, and enhancing public awareness.

Major General Tiem lauded the cooperation between VOV and relevant ministries in addressing the problem and expressed the hope that the Ministry of Public Security and VOV would work more closely together to improve the situation.

In 2009, there were 252 serious traffic jams that lasted over an hour, increasing 78.7 percent compared to 2008, of these 101 occurred in Hanoi and 78 in Ho Chi Minh City. In the first six months of 2010, there were 101 serious traffic jams, including 25 in Hanoi and 14 in Ho Chi Minh City.