Promoting transport infrastructure connectivity in the Southeast region of Vietnam

The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project once completed will help reduce traffic pressure on National Highway No. 51.

​Urgent need

For many years, connected transport infrastructure has been a big "bottleneck" hindering the development of the Southeast region. The bottleneck in connectivity and traffic infrastructure of the Southeast region causes high logistics costs, traffic congestion in urban areas in the region has been warned for a long time, but the improvements in recent years have not yet been commensurate with expectations. Therefore, the investment and implementation of transport infrastructure projects connecting the region, especially the Ring Road 3-HCMC and the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway is an urgent demand.

The radial national highways such as National Highway No. 22, National Highway No. 13, Highway No. 1 are overloaded, especially during rush hour at the gateways of the city. In the coming time, when Long Thanh International Airport (airport) phase 1 with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year is expected to operate in 2025, Tan Son Nhat International Airport will be invested to upgrade provided to operate with a capacity of 50 million passengers per year, combined with the increase in mechanical population of Ho Chi Minh City as well as other localities in the region will continue to cause difficulties for the transportation infrastructure system which is in over traffic, the risk of traffic congestion will increase.

Therefore, the investment in ring roads, including Ring Road 3-HCMC should be given special priority to improve the traffic situation of HCMC as well as connect with neighboring provinces in Southeast region. 

Similarly, the investment in the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway is also being evaluated at a very necessary and urgent level. In fact, with the traffic volume exceeding 3 times the design capacity, National Highway No. 51, the main traffic route connecting 3 localities in the Southeast region including Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai, and Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City has been in the status of overcrowding for a long time. National Highway No. 51 is also the route with the highest frequency of traffic jams in the province today. At the 7th session of the Provincial People's Council, Term X on July 24, Mr. Thai Bao, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council also said that Highway No. 51 is currently in a serious overload.

Create new growth momentum

According to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the Ring Road projects of Ho Chi Minh City, including the Ring Road 3-Ho Chi Minh City project, will be responsible for receiving and clearing transit traffic, reducing the load on inner-city roads and improve the traffic condition of the city. At the same time, promote investment efficiency in highway projects, radial national highways, and form a strategic transport network for the whole region.

In terms of traffic links, this is also a project to help connect and shorten the circulation time between localities in the Southern Key Economic Zone in general and the Southeast in particular. From there, maximize the effectiveness of the advantages of localities, creating conditions for the development of inter-regional transport services. Along with that, the Ring Road 3-HCMC project will also expand the development space of new urban areas, Industrial Zones, and logistics services along both sides of the route, creating a strong impetus for the economic development of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast Region.

In addition to the role of connecting traffic and promoting economic development, Ring Road 3-HCMC will also play an important role in reducing traffic congestion and solving urgent needs for infrastructure and contribute to the redistribution of population density. Creating conditions for housing development for workers and low-income workers in the Southeast region. At the same time, reduce the traffic of vehicles passing through densely populated urban areas, thereby minimizing environmental impacts on atmosphere, noise, and improving urban environmental quality.

Meanwhile, evaluating the role of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project, at the 7th session of the Provincial People's Council, Term X, Chairman Thai Bao of the Provincial People's Council said that the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway Project is an important national project, once it is invested and built, it will bring great value, opening a lifeline, contributing to expanding development space for Dong Nai Province. Strengthening connectivity, creating dynamics, inter-regional spillover effects, promoting socio-economic development of Dong Nai Province and other provinces in the Southern Key Economic Region. Especially when combined with Long Thanh Airport, connecting with highways Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay, and Ben Luc - Long Thanh.

The Southeast region has 6 provinces including: Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh. This is the most dynamic economic development region in the country, in which there are 4 localities in the region including Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, which have the rate of budget contribution to the Central government among the highest in the country.

Phan Anh