Resolution to bottlenecks in development of Southeastern Region discussed

Considering that bottlenecks persist especially in infrastructure investment in development of Southeast Region, at the conference of the Southeast Region and Long An province on January 15, Ho Chi Minh dity representative proposed, based on Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15 dated June 24, 2023 of the National Assembly on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh city, to establish a Southeast Region Infrastructure Development Fund. Localities also proposed to build a specific mechanism and policy for the Southeast Region to serve development. 

Proposal to establish a regional infrastructure development fund 

On January 15, in Ho Chi Minh City, a conference of the Southeast region and Long An province took place. Attending the conference on the side of Binh Duong province was Mr. Vo Van Minh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh city People's Committee, the implementation of the Southeast cooperation agreement has 10 regional coordination contents. To date, the region has completed 6 out of 10 contents; 3 out of 10 contents are partially completed and 1 is being implemented. For the key project of Vanh Dai 3, Ho Chi Minh city, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An provinces have coordinated to implement basic component projects to meet the progress according to the direction of the government. Specifically, Ho Chi Minh city has recovered 409 over 410 hectares of land; Binh Duong has recovered 76 over 80 hectares of land; Dong Nai province has recovered 63.7 over 65 hectares of land; Long An province has recovered 48 hectares of land. At the same time, the construction progress of component projects is being accelerated, striving to complete and put the project into operation in 2026.

The cooperation between Ho Chi Minh city and Binh Duong province in the 2023-2024 includes a total of 11 bilateral coordination, of which 5 have been completed, 6 have been partially completed and are continuing to be implemented. Specifically, some key coordination being implemented by the two localities are coordinating the implementation of component projects of Ho Chi Minh city Vanh Dai 3 and Vanh Dai 4; studying investment in extending urban railway line No. 1 to Binh Duong; at the same time, coordinating construction material sources to supply for component projects of Ho Chi Minh city Vanh Dai 3 project, implementing the project to increase the clearance of Binh Trieu 1 bridge and Binh Phuoc 1 bridge on the Saigon River.

At the conference, delegates analyzed the bottlenecks in development, especially in terms of investment capital for infrastructure development in the region. According to the Ho Chi Minh city Institute for Development Studies, it is necessary to establish a Regional Infrastructure Development Fund to create development momentum for the entire region. One of the main reasons for the limitations and weaknesses is that the regional linkage institutions are not yet synchronous, effective and efficient while there is a lack of mechanisms and policies to encourage and effectively mobilize resources, especially non-state budget capital to invest in the construction of important, large-scale regional connectivity infrastructure projects and for science, technology and innovation.

Mr. Phan Van Mai, Deputy Secretary of the city Party Committee, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh city People's Committee, said that two issues to help the Southeast region develop rapidly in the coming time are public investment capital and the quality of foreign investment projects in localities, which are the main driving forces for the region to achieve double-digit growth as expected. The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also said that investing in regional connectivity infrastructure would create breakthroughs in development for localities. Therefore, the establishment of a Regional Infrastructure Development Fund is necessary.

“The fund is established based on the effective investment funds of each locality to contribute resources to infrastructure development investment in the whole region. Based on the specific mechanisms and policies under Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15 dated June 24, 2023 of the National Assembly, the city proposes to establish the Southeast Region Infrastructure Development Investment Fund,” Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh city People's Committee Phan Van Mai shared at the conference.

Coordinate to speed up progress of key projects

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Vo Van Minh, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, proposed to resolve a number of issues related to the traffic project connecting the two provinces of Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh city. Accordingly, his proposal included studying the investment plan to extend urban railway line No. 1 through Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, adjusting the planning of An Binh terminal station connecting traffic between the two localities, agreeing to propose the Ministry of Transport to consider adjusting the functional planning of Binh Trieu and An Binh terminal stations in accordance with the development orientation of the locality. The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee informed that the Ho Chi Minh city - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway Project through the province has been approved by the provincial People's Committee and the bidding documents for selecting investors. Currently, Binh Duong is carrying out procedures for selecting investors, expected to start construction on February 2, 2025.

Regarding the Ho Chi Minh city Vanh Dai 4 project, provinces and cities are urgently implementing investment preparation work. Based on the consensus, Binh Duong continues to adjust the approved investment policy to adjust the 12km urban road section into an expressway to synchronize the scale and standards of the entire Ho Chi Minh city Vanh Dai 4 route.

“Binh Duong is focusing on investing in key traffic routes, the province's arteries, enhancing regional connectivity, creating spillover effects, developing a synchronous and modern traffic system, promptly solving the fundamental problem of traffic congestion on key traffic routes, opening up many opportunities for cooperation and attracting investment in the region. Binh Duong also proposed a number of orientations for investment in the traffic system in the coming period, especially connecting with Ho Chi Minh City and international seaports and airports,” said Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Vo Van Minh.

Reported by Minh Duy - Translated by Vi Bao