The eastern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City including 1,000 hectare Thu Thiem new urban area has vigorously developed with many under-construction mega works, creating a new lease of life in the used to be swampy and fallow area.
Formerly, Saigon River separated Thu Thiem with the city downtown by a few hundreds of meters. Locals had to travel by ferries to reach Binh Thanh and District 1.
The city then decided to build Thu Thiem 1 bridge and Saigon River tunnel, the longest one in Southeast Asia, to develop Thu Thiem.
Afterwards, HCMC continued calling on investment in a slew of other works to create a breakthrough in the area including four main roads in Thu Thiem new urban area and Thu Thiem 2 bridge.
After being built, the four roads will connect with Thu Thiem 1 bridge, Vo Van Kiet boulevard, Mai Chi Tho street and Thu Thiem bridges 2, 3, 4 to form a fully traffic system for the new urban area.
They will link up to the center of the city and neighboring provinces to reduce traffic jam in the eastern gateway. Total capital is VND12,182 billion (US$546.48 million) to construct the four roads including an arc avenue, a lakeside road, a Saigon Riverside road and a 12 km flyover.
With the total length of 11.9 kilometers, the four routes will include eight bridges, two viaducts and two embankments.
Rainwater and wastewater drainage systems, telecommunication, 110Kv and 220Kv power cable lines will be installed underground in the new urban area.
Another important project is the North-South road, stretching from Thu Thiem 1 bridge to Mai Chi Tho street. It is expected to open to traffic by the end of this year.
According to the Management Board of Thu Thiem new urban area, a slew of mega projects have been implemented in the area.
The joint venture of Tien Phuoc company, Tran Thai company and Denver Power company of the UK has been licensed since June last year to develop Empire City Complex over 15 hectares at the total cost of US$1.2 billion.
The project comprises an 86 storey building, a five star hotel, a commercial center and office buildings.
Previously in 2014, Lotte Group of South Korea and its Japanese partners Mitsubishi and Toshiba got the city’s approval for the policy of building a $2 billion Eco Smart City grouping high class hotels, a commercial hub, office buildings and apartment blocks over ten hectares.
Other projects are being promoted such as the Sun Avenue in Mai Chi Tho street, Thanh My Loi sport complex, Lake View and Lexington apartment and urban complexes.
