An upgrade of Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7 is expected to finish in January, Luong Minh Phuc, director of the HCMC Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Projects, which oversees the work, said on Thursday.

Workers at a construction site to upgrade HCMC's Huynh Tan Phat Street, November 2020.

Upgrade of the section of the street from Phu Xuan Bridge to Binh Khanh Ferry began in April 2020 at a cost of around VND300 billion ($12.9 million), with a drainage system being built, the road being raised, additional lights installed, and trees planted.

The work is 90 percent complete, Phuc said.

Huynh Tan Phat is a vital traffic route connecting downtown Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Khanh Ferry through Can Gio District. But it is often congested during rush hour and flooded during rains and high tides.

The upgrade is expected to decongest HCMC's southern entrance.

Also expected to be completed in January is My Thuy 3 Bridge. Part of the second phase of the My Thuy Intersection work in District 2, its construction began in March 2020 at a cost of VND57 billion.

The bridge, being built between the My Thuy 1 and 2 bridges, is 75 m long and forks into two. The road leading to the bridge is 24 m wide with six car lanes.

After the My Thuy Intersection second phase is completed at a cost of VND1.43 trillion ($61.48 million) the entire area is expected to see reduced congestion leading to fewer accidents, and improve traffic flows to Cat Lai Port in District 2, which gets around 19,000 vehicles a day.

Another road set for an upgrade is the 3.2-km Nguyen Huu Canh in District 1 and Binh Thanh District.

The work is expected to be completed in April and help reduce flooding. It began in October 2018 at a cost of VND473 billion and is managed by the HCMC Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Projects.

It is now 65 percent complete, with work on the section from Ton Duc Thang Street to Thu Thiem Bridge having been completed.

Work on the remaining section from Thu Thiem Bridge to Saigon Bridge is underway.

Construction of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge over Saigon River between Districts 1 and 2 is expected to be completed in September. It will be over 1.4 km long and have six lanes.

The work began in 2015 at a cost of nearly VND3.1 trillion. Connecting the Thu Thiem new urban area with downtown HCMC, it will be one of the city’s new icons.

It was originally scheduled to be completed in 2018, but issues related to relocating people caused delays. It is now 70 percent complete, and city authorities are working on resolving the relocation issues quickly to speed up progress.

Hanoi opens pedestrian space in the south of Old Quarter

A pedestrian space in the south of the Hanoi Old Quarter was officially put into operation on December 31, meeting the higher demand of the capital city’s citizens and visitors.

Last illegal entrant from coronavirus-infected group found

The last of the nine people who entered Vietnam illegally last week, some with Covid-19, and their smuggler have been tracked down.

Source: VnExpress