A new high-speed boat service between HCM City’s District 1 and Cu Chi District through Binh Duong Province will be inaugurated in early July. — Photo www.baogiaothong.vn
Rising vehicles burden road traffic
Ngo Hai Duong, head of a unit in charge of managing road infrastructure under the HCM City Department of Transport said that the city's road traffic system has constantly faced congestion at the highest level.
"By the end of September this year, the percentage of land used for transportation in the city remained at just over 13.30 percent which is 10 percent less than the standard rate," Duong said. "There are now over 8.70 vehicles including 865,000 cars and over 7.80 two-wheeled vehicles. The number of vehicles has increased by 3.10 percent compared to the same period last year."
Potentials for developing water transportation
HCM City has 110 rivers and canals with a total length of nearly 1,000 kilometres. Local sea-ports and wharves are scattered in many areas, creating favourable conditions for developing a waterway transportation system.
According to the HCM City Department of Transport, in the first nine months of this year, the local waterway system transported a total of over 52.20 million tonnes of goods, 40 percent of the total transported by road. The total number of passengers using the waterway in the period reached over 22.60 million, an increase of 51.63 percent on-year.
Vice director of the HCM City Department of Transport, Bui Hoa An, said that the city had huge potential for developing water transportation.
"We've recently launched some waterway routes that connect the city with some neighbouring localities, particularly the southeastern and Mekong Delta regions," he said. "We're going to launch two new river bus routes connecting District 1 and District 7. In 2023, the city will open three more high-speed boat routes to Con Dao Island, Tien Giang, and Ben Tre provinces, which is expected to ease the burden of road traffic and develop tourism in these localities."
