HCM City plans to build 1 million sq. metres of new roads thisyear to ease traffic congestion, the Department of Transport said.

This would take the density of roads in the city to 1.816km of roads per square kilometre.

To achieve the target, the city will seek to raise funds from local andforeign investors through public-private partnership (PPP),build-operate-transfer (BOT), build-transfer-operate, and build-transfer(BT) models.

This year private investors would begin workon nine major transport projects in the city at a cost of 34 trillionVND (1.6 billion USD) and 171 million USD.

The HCM CityInfrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company will expand the HanoiHighway , build the Rach Chiec Bridge , the inter-provincialHighway 25B, and the second phase of the Binh Trieu Bridge .

It will also start work on the Sai Gon Bridge No. 2 in April under a BT model at a cost of more than 1.2 trillion VND.

Work on the Thu Thiem Bridge No. 2 – linking the Thu Thiem urban areaand the planned Thu Thiem new urban area – would be begun this year at acost of 1.6 trillion VND.

In July work would begin on the Thu Thiem new urban area with the construction of four major roads.

The section of the Belt Road No. 2 between An Lap Traffic Point andNguyen Van Linh street will also be built this year at a cost of 9 .5trillion VND.

PetroVietnam Infrastructure and UrbanInvestment Joint Stock Company, the belt road investor, is finalisingthe design and paperwork under the BT model.-VNA