An aerial view of Ninh Kieu District in Can Tho City. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh wants to develop multiple traffic infrastructure projects in the Mekong Delta - PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – As traffic infrastructure is an important part of the development of the Mekong Delta region, expressway projects connecting HCMC and the Mekong Delta should be accelerated, while expressways from Can Tho to Ca Mau and An Giang, a ring road in the city and coastal roads in the region must be developed, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

At a meeting with voters in Can Tho City on May 8, Chinh said the execution of expressway projects from HCMC to the Mekong Delta were slow and he had assigned the Ministry of Transport to accelerate them, the local media reported.

The region will receive an additional US$2 billion to develop its traffic infrastructure, including national highways, coastal roads and expressways. It should prioritize developing backbone routes and connecting routes, creating economic corridors to expand the development space and building land funds to develop urban areas, trade centers, industrial parks and residential areas.

In addition, it is essential to connect and improve the effectiveness of key projects, such as the My Thuan-Can Tho, Can Tho-Ca Mau, Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang and Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu expressways.

The capital of US$2 billion is small, so localities should propose policies to mobilize resources from residents and enterprises. The prime minister said good infrastructure would help attract investors.

Many voters agreed that traffic infrastructure would help attract investment and develop trade, culture and tourism, so it should be the top priority.

However, traffic infrastructure has yet to meet the region’s development demand.

The region’s roads account for only 10% of the country’s total with over 2,000 kilometers of national highways, some 4,800 kilometers of provincial roads and 73,000 kilometers of roads in districts.