Construction on a section of Ring Road 3 around Ho Chi Minh City is set to start on June 18, the same day work will begin on the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, which is also part of the Southern Key Economic Zone (SKEZ).
To date, site clearance for Ring Road 3 has reached almost 82%, according to HCMC’s Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Traffic Works. In the districts of Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh, 93% and 86% of site clearance has been completed.
Bidding to select a contractor and supervisory consultant is on schedule, meaning that construction on Ring Road 3 will begin right after the groundbreaking ceremony, according to the board.
Luong Minh Phuc, head of the board, said that starting this major project on time marked a new era of implementing major infrastructure projects without delay. He stressed that HCMC, Vietnam’s economic powerhouse, will benefit from a special mechanism to be approved by the National Assembly soon with regards to building infrastructure facilities and socioeconomic development.
The SKEZ covers HCMC and the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An, Ba Ria- Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, and Tien Giang. Ring Road 3 will run 76.3 kilometers through HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An. It will cost an estimated VND75.4 trillion ($3.2 billion).
Meanwhile, the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project is located in Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Dong Nai is an industrial province in the SKEZ, while Ba Ria-Vung Tau is one of the country’s leading oil and gas hubs, and the beach town of Vung Tau is among Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations.
The expressway project’s first phase will span 53.7 kilometers, with 34.2 kilometers running through Dong Nai and the rest in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The first phase investment capital has been set at VND17.8 trillion ($757 million), and should be completed in 2025 and opened in 2026.
The total length is divided into three sections. The first, 16 km, will be invested by Dong Nai province. The second, 18.2 km and also in Dong Nai, will be invested by the Ministry of Transport. The third, 19.5 km in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, will be invested by the province.
The total investment is estimated at VND17.84 trillion ($759.2 million).
In a related development, Ba Ria-Vung Tau will start construction of Phuoc An Bridge on the same day, June 18. The new bridge will connect the port cluster of Cai Mep - Thi Vai in Phu My town with Nhon Trach district in Dong Nai. The 4.3 km bridge will cost an estimated VND4,879 billion ($207.7 million).