HCMC seeks $960 mln from state budget for six major projects

In a proposal sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment recently, it was proposed the government allocate the city the required sum over the next five years.

Of the fund, VND4.5 trillion would be used to provide three general hospitals in Thu Duc City, and Hoc Mon and Cu Chi districts advanced medical equipment.

The city is upgrading the hospitals to improve their capacities, contributing to easing the burden on healthcare facilities in the inner-city area.

The rest of the fund would be used to upgrade two canals and build an expressway.

Xuyen Tam Canal flows more than eight kilometers (almost five miles) through Go Vap and Binh Thanh districts. The project to upgrade it is estimated to cost VND9.35 trillion. It would dredge the canal bed, build embankments and roads along its sides as also a sewage system.

A section of Xuyen Tam Canal in HCMC's Binh Thanh District in 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Renovation of Hy Vong Canal, which runs 1.8 kilometers through Tan Binh District, will enable it to function as a drainage canal for Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The VND1.98 trillion project, when complete, would help improve the environment along the Hy Vong canal and reduce flooding at the airport.

Construction of the VND15.9 trillion HCMC-Moc Bai Expressway is set to begin in 2023 and finish in 2025.

It will run about 50 kilometers, linking Ho Chi Minh City with the neighboring province of Tay Ninh that borders Cambodia.

The project will help complete the Southern Key Economic Zone traffic network, reduce overload on National Highway 22, and increase road capacity between the city and Cambodia.