HCM City is seeking solutions to reduce traffic congestion for Cat Lai Port which receives more than half of the country’s waterway and 89% of the southern region’s cargo.
According to the HCM City Department of Transport, around 17,000 vehicles enter the port daily and the figure can even reach up to 19,000 - 22,000 sometimes, while the capacity of the main street leading to it, Nguyen Thi Dinh, is not sufficient 15,000.
Streets near Cat Lai Port often face traffic jams
Last year, the port had to serve 53 million tonnes of cargo compared with a design capacity of just 36 million tonnes per year by 2020.
The large amount of traffic and unfinished road infrastructure has contributed to the traffic jams in the port area.
Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the HCM City Department of Transport, said that construction of My Thuy intersection which is scheduled for completion by April this year is expected to ease congestion.
Cuong added that authorities should crack down on illegal parking lots and traffic violations around the port area.
He, however, noted that it is more important to reduce the amount of traffic in streets near Cat Lai Port by boosting waterway freight.
But he mentioned waterway difficulties as the construction of several bridges in HCM City have not yet been completed, while some others such as Rach Doi and Rach Tom in Nha Be District need to be upgraded. According to Cuong, the city has planned to upgrade and rebuild these bridges this year.
Pham Cong Bang, head of the HCM City Department of Transport’s waterway management board, the cargo through seaports in HCM City have increased by 5-10% annually since 2010. Among those, Cat Lai Port accounts for the majority of the cargo. HCM City authorities have proposed the establishment of inland container depots for serving the cargo transport by waterway, aiming to ease the pressure for road traffic.
The construction of Long Binh inland container depot in District 9 is being carried out to receive cargo from Dong Nai and Binh Duong which would then be transported by water to Cat Lai, Hiep Phuoc and Cai Mep ports.