Other works planned to ease the traffic problems there include creating otherentrances to the airport, build more roads leading to the airport in additionto the existing Truong Son Street, build elevated roads, a monorail, and ametro route to the airport.
Though two flyovers have been built on Truong Son street (leading to Tan Son NhatAirport) and the road connecting Tan Son Nhat and Binh Loi, the outer beltwayand the first stage of the Nguyen Kiem – Nguyen Thai Son Roundabout projecthave been opened to traffic, Truong Son remains severely congested.
The situation has not improved with the widening of Hoang Minh Giam street inPhu Nhuan district last month.
Transportation experts have said that Truong Son street, the only way to reachTan Son Nhat, is congested because it has to carry 30 million passengers a yearbesides a large number of local residents.
To mitigate the problem, the city Department of Transport has planned severalworks, including creating another entrance to the airport.
They include upgrades to and widening of Hoang Hoa Tham street and building aroad connecting Tran Quoc Hoan and Truong Chinh streets running parallel to CongHoa street.
According to the transport department’s Urban Transportation Management Unit No1, the 783.5m long, 23m wide Hoang Hoa Tham street will be made a four-laneroad at a cost of 254 billion VND (11.3 million USD).
A new entrance to the airport will be built on this road to take some of thetraffic off Truong Son street.
A feasibility study has been done for the construction of the road parallel toCong Hoa street, but the city authorities are waiting for land to betransferred by the military management unit.
The defence ministry has agreed to transfer 1,800sq.m of land used by theMilitary Hospital 175 to the city for construction of a steel flyover at theNguyen Thai Son – Nguyen Kiem intersection.
Meanwhile, construction of the civilian-military Terminal T3 on 286 Hoang HoaTham street by Ngoi Sao Viet Joint Stock Company has been approved. Butit must wait until the airport expansion plan is completed by a foreignconsulting company, the company said.
According to a transport department spokesman, the department proposed to use7,400sq.m of land on Truong Chinh street to widen it. The land has beenobtained by removing 50 shops and three petrol stations.
A report on the expansion of the airport by the Ministry of Transport saysdemand for air transport in the Southern key economic zone is rising,accounting for 46 percent of the total number of passengers in the country.
Last year, 32.5 million passengers flew through Tan Son Nhat Airport against adesigned capacity of its two terminals of 28 million.
According to the transport ministry, the airport handles 40 percent of alldomestic and international flights to and from Vietnam, and so delays andcancellations of flights would affect flight schedules and quality, and causelosses to carriers and risks to aviation safety.
The airport is expected to handle 38– 40 million passengers next year, risingto 43-45 million in 2020.
Plans are under way to build Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai province to easethe burden on Tan Son Nhat.-VNA