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Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and HCM City leaders yesterday flagged off the 20km route for a subway linking District 12 to Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2. — File Photo |
HA NOI — The transport sector must show the way to meeting the demands of Viet Nam's developing economy, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday.
It must focus on the improvement of State management, strategic planning and an institutional mechanism, he told a meeting to celebrate the industry's 65th traditional day.
Research of new technology; stricter control of investment in construction and work quality as well as waste prevention were also needed, he said.
The prime minister emphasised the necessary enhancement of the different modes of transport and the participation of all the economy's components in the industry's development.
Strict and comprehensive measures to ensure traffic safety, reduce traffic accidents and educate people about suitable traffic behaviour were required together with renewal and equitisation to improve business and production, he said.
The sector has built many major works to the regional standard during the past decade.
These have included the Thang Long and Chuong Duong bridges in Ha Noi; the My Thuan Bridge, Da Nang City, the Hai Van tunnel and the HCM City – Trung Luong highway.
National highways, bridges, airports and ports across the country have been built, upgraded or restored to create an increasingly effective transport system.
The network has improved the life of many people in remote Viet Nam and contributed heavily to poverty reduction.
The former Ho Chi Minh trail is to become the country's second north-south highway with significant benefit to economic development, national defence and security.
The first phase of the highway, from northern Thanh Hoa Province to Central Highland's Kon Tum province, has been completed.
The second phase will start in northern-highland Cao Bang province and extend southernmost Ca Mau province.
Work is scheduled to finish in 2013.
The transport of passengers and goods has risen 8.5 per cent in the past year.
Subway flagged
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and HCM City leaders yesterday flagged off work on a 20-km subway linking District 12 in the north-west with the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2.
The Metro Line No. 2, the second of seven routes planned by the city, will be built in two stages, with yesterday's ceremony marking groundbreaking for construction of the Tham Luong Depot in District 12.
The first phase will see construction of a 12-km line from Tham Luong to Ben Thanh Market in District 1. It will pass through Districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu.
The first phase will be ready in 2016 and the fare will be around VND3,000.
It will get US$540 million from the Asian Development Bank, $313 million from the German Bank for Reconstruction, $195 million from the European Investment Bank, and the rest from local sources.
Later it will be extended at both ends, reaching Thu Thiem from Ben Thanh Market — through the tunnel under the Sai Gon River — and An Suong Bus Station from Tham Luong.
The $1.25 billion system will have 11 stations, including 10 under the ground and one elevated terminal in Tan Binh District.
Hai said the underground will be a driving force for economic development in the city and southern region.
He urged authorities and local residents to ensure the work finishes on schedule.
He urged people whose lands will be acquired for the construction to offer support and ordered authorities to ensure compensation is paid properly. "Successful land clearance will account for 50 per cent of the project's success," he stressed.
Rolf Schulze, Germany's ambassador to Viet Nam, said the underground will mark an important turning point in the city's socio-economic development.
The project has featured in his discussions and thoughts every day since he took office three years ago, he said.
The project is important especially in the context of urbanisation and climate change, he said, explaining that energy consumption and pollution due to urban transport needs have increased, badly affecting the environment and people's health.
Having an energy-efficient means of transport is thus very important, he said.
"This project represents a fine example of international co-operation," he added.
Nguyen Thanh Tai, standing deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said with a growing population and annual economic growth of more than 12 per cent, creating a safe and convenient urban transport system is both an urgent need and an important long-term task.
Work on Metro Line No. 1 between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien began in early 2008 with funding from Japanese ODA.
The city's proposed mass public transport system will also have three tram routes. — VNS
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