National highways 50, 1, 13, and 22 will be renovated at a cost of VND18 trillion ($784.3 million) to reduce congestion on HCMC’s outskirts and improve traffic flows.
The work to widen and upgrade the highways, two of which link HCMC with the Mekong Delta, will begin soon and be completed by 2025.
The widening of a seven-kilometer section of National Highway 50 that runs through HCMC’s 253-square-kilometer Binh Chanh District will cost nearly VND1.5 trillion, with VND687 billion provided by the government and the rest by the city.
It will be widened to 34 meters with six lanes.
Running 88 km (55 miles) from District 8 through Can Giuoc District in Long An Province and up to Tien Giang Province, it is a key link between HCMC and the delta.
The section in the city is narrow and frequently gridlocked, and so the upgrade will make it more convenient for transportation, especially of garbage to Da Phuoc, the city’s biggest landfill, and mitigate pressure on the city’s southern gateway.
To cost over VND3.35 trillion, renovation of a 2.5-km section of Highway No.1 in Binh Chanh will see it widened to 120 meters with 10 lanes.
The HCMC Department of Transport has described this work as "necessary and urgent" since the road is narrow but packed with all kinds of vehicles.
Since it is at the western gateway of the city and links it with the delta, it is gridlocked especially during major holidays like the Lunar New Year when migrant workers visit home and return to work in the city.
A 4.5-km section of National Highway 13 between Binh Trieu Bridge, which links Binh Thanh District and Thu Duc City, and the Binh Phuoc Intersection in Thu Duc will be widened from 53 meters to 60 meters at a cost of nearly VND10 trillion.
A one-kilometer section of the highway from Thu Duc City to the Binh Duong Province border will be widened to 53 meters at a cost of VND2.2 trillion. When completed, the two sections will help reduce congestion and develop urban areas in the east of HCMC.
Upgrading and widening a 5.4-km section of National Highway 22 in the city’s western districts of 12 and Hoc Mon will cost VND935 billion. It will have four to eight lanes and two new overpasses.
The highway connects the neighboring city Tay Ninh Province on the Cambodian border. It usually has a high density of vehicles and congestion during rush hour.
Source: VnExpress