3km HCMC ring road still left unfinished after four years

[ASEAN NOW News]

A three-kilometer section of Ring Road No. 2 has been left untouched since 2020 though the road is significant to tackling Ho Chi Minh City’s worsening gridlock.

 

According to VN Express, Ring Road 2 is one of HCMC’s major traffic infrastructure projects started in 2017. It will connect districts 2, 7, 8, 9, 12, Binh Tan, Thu Duc, Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh to help ease chronic downtown traffic congestion by preventing container trucks passing through inner-city areas.

 

For now, a total gap of fourteen kilometers along the road has yet to be completed, including a 2.75-kilometer section that runs from Go Dua Intersection to Pham Van Dong Street in Thu Duc City.

 

Invested under the build-transfer (BT) form, the section cost more than VND2.5 trillion ($111.17 million), including VND1.41 trillion in site clearance.

 

 

Built in late 2017 by Van Phu Bac Ai JSC, the section has been put on hold since 2020 when it had been 44 percent completed.

 

Compared to 2019, the part near Go Dua Intersection is currently overgrown with wild grass.

 

At the end of the section near Pham Van Dong Street, nothing has changed since 2019 except for more vegetation covering the road.

 

A waterway has been planned for this area.

As designed, the section spans sixty-seven meters wide to have twelve lanes for vehicles to travel in two directions.

 

Overgrown grass and rusted steel are a common sight.

 

The concrete slabs have turned black and are covered with vines near Pham Van Dong Street.

 

The drainage systems on both sides of the road remain unfinished, with many parts surrounded by weeds.

 

 

A danger notice above a hole. In July 2019, two 10-year-old children were electrocuted to death while playing in the construction site.

By then, work had already stopped though workers had failed to turn off the power, letting a wire fall to the ground.

 

Building materials and machinery are left scattered across the site.

 

 

Many parts of the unfinished project are now used as garbage dumps by nearby residents.

 

 

These households are among a few that have yet to hand over their property to the investor.

According to the investor, the project has been delayed due to problems related to compensation and resettlement.

It is still waiting for HCMC to sign the appendix to the BT contract and, once all issues are sorted out, the entire 2.75-kilometer section would be completed within 28 months.