Trieu Do Hong Phuoc, the committee’s chairman, said their construction is behind schedule and the revised completion dates have not been announced by the builders.
A number of companies are building three sections of Belt Road No.2 – with the contractors yet to be identified for the final section – while Cửu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure is building the other road.
While the city People’s Committee has instructed that the deadline for handing over lands required for the roads is the end of this year, only Thu Duc District has so far done so.
Relevant departments admitted at a meeting with the committee that there is little co-ordination between themselves in the project’s implementation.
Nguyen Van Tam, deputy head of the Department of Transport, said the 64.1- kilometre Belt Road No.2 has been planned since 2007 to ease traffic in the city centre.
Now a 50.2-kilometre stretch from Go Dua intersection in Thu Duc District through An Lac roundabout, Nguyen Van Linh Street and My Thuy intersection to Phu Huu Bridge has been completed and opened to traffic.
Another 2.75 kilometres are under construction but work is yet to begin on the rest.
The entire work is expected to cost more than VND 16 trillion (US$686 million).
The contractor for the fourth and final phase from An Lập intersection to Nguyen Van Linh Street has yet to be identified.
The 89.3-kilometre Belt Road No.3 goes through HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Dương and Long An and will also be built in four sections. So far 16.3 kilometres in Binh Dương Province have been completed and opened to traffic.
The road starts at the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway and ends at the HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment and other relevant agencies are working with the Asian Development Bank to finalise the list of projects, including the Belt Road No.3, for funding in 2019-21.
