The projects include: ,the Long Kieng bridge in Nha Be District, the Tang Long and Nam Ly bridges in District 9, the Luong Dinh Cua and Nguyen Van Huong streets in District 2 and road No. 9 in Hoc Mon District.

The new Long Kieng bridge project has been delayed for years, while the current Long Kieng Bridge is seriously deteriorating – Photo: NLDO

Luong Minh Phuc, director of the HCMC Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Projects, said there are two reasons for the slow progress of these projects.

The subjective reasons are the delays in completing investment and bidding procedures and the poor capacity of consultants and contractors, while the objective reason is the slow progress of site clearance work, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

To complete these projects, the management board is coordinating with the municipal Department of Transport and other relevant departments and agencies to simplify procedures, improve the bidding quality and enhance the supervision of projects to promptly eradicate obstacles.

As for the slow site clearance, the management board is meeting with the municipal government and the relevant agencies twice a week to accelerate the work. In addition, the investors of projects have worked with the authorities of districts where projects are being developed to persuade residents to hand over their land lots.

Phuc said the Nha Be District government had committed to handing over the cleared site for the Long Kieng bridge project spanning the Phuoc Kieng River and connecting Nhon Duc and Phuoc Kien communes in October 2021 and the project is expected to be put into use after a year of construction.

Meanwhile, the District 9 government pledged to hand over the sites for the Tang Long and Nam Ly bridge projects at the end of December next year so that the projects can be completed within 10 months.

Regarding the project to expand Luong Dinh Cua Street, the site will be cleared in the second quarter of next year, while the site clearance work for the projects to expand Nguyen Van Huong Street and Road No. 9 will be completed in the first quarter of next year and in December this year, respectively.

The Long Kieng bridge project has been delayed for more than a decade, while local residents have no option but to use a deteriorating and narrow bridge.

Meanwhile, the project to upgrade and expand Luong Dinh Cua Street with an estimated investment of over VND800 billion remains incomplete after five years of construction. Households along the road have to suffer from dust, while their business activities have also been affected.

Those living along Road No. 9 in Hoc Mon District have also faced the same fate for more than a year due to the delay of a project to expand and upgrade the road caused by obstacles in site clearance.

In addition, many residents on Do Xuan Hop Street in District 9 have complained of traffic congestion during peak hours due to the railing surrounding the construction site of the Nam Ly bridge project. The railing remains in place while work on the project has been suspended for three years due to site clearance obstacles.

The Tang Long bridge project in the district is also facing a similar plight.  SGT

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