Decision No. 06/2011/QD-TTg dated January 24, 2011 of the Prime Ministry approving the master plan on transport development in the Southern key economic region through 2020, with orientations towards 2030

DECISION

APPROVING THE MASTER PLAN ON TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION THROUGH 2020, WITH ORIENTATIONS TOWARDS 2030

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
At the proposal of the Minister of Transport (Report No. 7874/BGTVT-KHDT of November 9, 20JO) on the master plan on transport development in the southern key economic region through 2020, with orientations towards 2030,

DECIDES:

Article 1.To approve the master plan on transport development in the southern key economic region through 2020. with orientations towards 2030. with the following principal contents:

I. DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINTS

1. The master plan on transport development in the southern key economic region must be in line with the regional socio-economic development orientations as well as transport development strategies and plans of the country and related localities.

2. To develop transport with strong breakthroughs as a prerequisite for accelerating socio-economic development for the region to lead in the cause of national industrialization and modernization, foreign investment attraction, international integration, security and defense maintenance and sustainable development.

3. To develop transport on the basis of promoting to the utmost the region s advantages of a central position and a strategic gateway for seaway and airway; to ensure linkage among different modes of transport, among different regions nationwide as well as between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces in the region.

4. To attach special importance on maintenance work so as to thoroughly tap the capacity of the existing infrastructure system. To invest in urgent key works which serve as a motive force for economic development, with priority given to facilities that help tackle traffic congestion and create regional linkage.

5. To develop high-quality transport services at reasonable charges; to focus on the development of transport services, multimodal transport and logistic services; to use energy-saving vehicles or clean-energy vehicles in order to mitigate environmental impacts.

6. To concentrate efforts on tackling traffic congestion in urban centers, especially Ho Chi Minh City; to pay attention to the development of local transport, especially in rural and difficulty-stricken areas.

7. To mobilize to the utmost resources at home and abroad and encourage all economic sectors to invest in transport development in different forms.

8. To quickly develop and improve the quality of human resources; to accelerate the research and application of new technologies and materials.

9. To reserve a reasonable land fund for transport infrastructure development; to further assure traffic safety corridors; to restrict and minimize traffic accidents; and to take the initiative in effectively responding to climate change.

II. DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINTS

1. Development viewpoints through 2020

a/ Transportation: To meet transport demands for safe and convenient transportation with higher quality and reasonable charges; to develop multimodal transport and logistic services; to prioritize mass transit using iron-wheel vehicles and buses in urban centers, especially in Ho Chi Minh City; to control and strive to reduce traffic accidents and mitigate adverse environmental impacts of transport activities.

Passenger transport volume will reach about 1.3-1.4 billion passenger arrivals per year, with 80-81 billion passengers-kilometer and an average annual growth rate of 8-9%, of which the number of passengers traveling by air will be 25 million.

Cargo transport volume will reach 0.5-0.55 billion tons per year, with 450-460 billion tons-kilometer and an average annual growth rate of 7-8%. of which the volume of cargo transported by sea will be 265-305 million tons (with 12- 17.9 million TEU of containers).

b/ Transport infrastructure facilities:

- To upgrade existing national highways to reach prescribed technical standards: to accelerate, the construction of expressways. striving to complete the building of around 580 km of expressways by 2020; to upgrade existing provincial roads to reach prescribed technical standards while building some new necessary ones; to further develop rural transport so that 80% of rural roads will have hard surface;

- To complete the upgrading and renovation of the North-South railway and Ho Chi Minn City railway hub; to build railways linking seaports and major economic zones: to open new inlra-regional railways and railways linking to the Mekong River delta: to study investment in the construction of the North-South express railway at an appropriate time.

-To step by step upgrade and expand seaports to meet cargo handling requirements in each period; to focus on building some deep-water ports in Vung Tau. Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minn City port complexes; to complete the relocation of ports along the Saigon River; to build passenger ports for international tourist ships; to develop island ports to meet development requirements and assure security and national defense. To study renovation and upgrading of fairways suitable to port sizes so as to ensure convenient entry and exit for ships;

- To renovate and upgrade inland waterways to prescribed technical standards: to upgrade and make intensive investment in river ports. To change the function of some cargo ports to serve passenger transport and tourism in conformity with urban planning;

- To upgrade existing airports to meet demand in each period; to complete the construction of Long Thanh international airport for phase-] operation:

- To speed up the construction of key facilities that help tackle traffic congestion and promote urban development. In Ho Chi Minh City, to attach importance to the development of infrastructure facilities for mass transit, belt roads, overhead roads and static transport systems as planned. In other cities and towns, to complete planning work and step by step develop infrastructure facilities to meet mass transit demands.

2. Development orientations towards 2030

To satisfy social demands for transport and transport services of high quality up to international standards at reasonable and competitive prices while ensuring speed and safety: to assure a convenient linkage among different modes of transport and between provinces and cities in the region and other localities in the country as well as foreign countries.

To basically complete and modernize the transport infrastructure network. To further build transport infrastructure facilities as planned.

III. DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

1. Transportation development

To organize rational transportation on some major corridors:

- Ho Chi Minh City - northbound corridor: It is a national and international corridor linking the southern key economic region to the North. Short-distance passenger and cargo transportation will mainly use intra-regional roads and rails while airway, seaway and the North-South railway will play a key role in long-distance passenger and cargo transportation.

- Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong River delta corridor: It is a regional and national corridor. Cargo transportation will be mainly by inland waterway and road, while passengers will be transported by road, rail and inland waterway.

- Ho Chi Minh City-Ba Ria-Vung Tan corridor: It is a regional and international corridor linking to international seaports and sea tourist centers in the region. Cargo will be transported mainly by waterway, road and rail while passengers will be transported mainly by road, rail and inland waterway.

- Ho Chi Minh City - Loc Ninh - Cambodia: It is a national and international corridor. Cargo and passengers will be transported mainly by-road and rail.

- Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai - Cambodia corridor: It is a national and international corridor along the trans-Asia road network. Cargo and passengers will be transported mainly by road and inland waterway.

Ho Chi Minh City - Central Highlands corridor: It is a national and regional corridor. Cargo and passengers will be transported mainly by road and air.

2. Transport infrastructure development

a/ Roads

Expressways:

- The eastern North-South expressway. 1.941 km long, with about 257.7 km within the southern key economic region. Of the expressway, the Binh Thuan-Dau Giav section will be about 50 km long, with 4-6 lanes; Dau Giay-Long Thanh-Ho Chi Minh City section. 55 km. with 6-8 lanes: Ben Luc-Long Thanh section (the southern inter-regional expressway.), 58 km, with 6-8 lanes: Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong section. 61.9 km. including 40 km of the expressway and 21.9 km of connecting roads, with 8 lanes (of which 4 lanes have been put into use since 2010); and Trung Luong - My Thuan section. 54 km. with 4 lanes.

- Vung Tau - Bien Hoa expressway. 78 km long, with 6 lanes.

- Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway, 69 km long, with 6-8 lanes.

- Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai expressway, 55 km long, with 4-6 lanes.

- Dau Giav - Da Lat expressway. 189 km long, with about 70 km within the southern key economic region, and 4 lanes.

- The western North-South expressway, which is the Ho Chi Minh Road (phase 3). of which the section within the southern key economic region is around 261 km long, with 4-6 lanes.

Major national highways

- National highway 1: The section within the southern key economic region is about 229.5 km long, including a section north of Ho Chi Minh City. 78 km long. 2 lanes, which will be maintained at grade-HT road standards; Bien Hoa city bypass. 17.5 km long, which will be built with 4 lanes; a section from Vung Tau T-junction to Station II, 8 km long. 6-8 lanes; a section from Station II to Go Dua crossroads. 7 km long, 6 lanes; and a section from Go Dua crossroads to An Lac, which overlaps belt road 2 of Ho Chi Minh City, to be built up to grade-1 urban road standards. The 115.2 kin-long section southwest of Ho Chi Minh City will be upgraded and expanded to reach grade-11 road standards, with 4 lanes, while a 12 km-long bypass of Cai Lay township will be built with 4 lanes.

- National highway 50: The section running from Ho Chi Minh City to the T-junction with national highway 1 at Km 88+600 (Tien Giang province). 88,6 km long, with 2 lanes, will be upgraded to reach grade-Ill road standards.

- National highway 51: The 73.6 km-long section running from Bicn Hoa (Dong Nai province) to Vung Tau (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) will be upgraded and expanded to reach grade-I road standards, with 6 lanes.

- National highway 55: The highway running from Ba Ria town (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) to Bao Loc (Lam Dong province), of which the section within the southern key economic region is 53.3 km long, will be upgraded to grade-Ill road standards, with 2 lanes.

- National highway 56: The highway, 51 km long, running from Tan Phong (Dong Nai province) to Ba Ria (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province), will be maintained at grade-Ill road standards, with 2 lanes.

- National highway 22: The highway. 58.2 km long, running from Ho Chi Minh City to Moc Bai (Tay Ninh province), will be maintained at grade-II or grade-I road standards, with 4-6 lanes.

- National highway 22B: The highway, 84 km long, running from Go Dau to Xa Mat (Tay Ninh province), will be upgraded to grade-Ill or grade-li road standards, with 2-4 lanes.

- National highway 13: The highway. 143 km long, running from Ho Chi Minh City to Hoa Lu border gate (Binh Phuoc province), of which the section from Thu Dau Mot to Binh Phuoc crossroads will be maintained at grade-I road standards, with 6 lanes; the Ben Cat-Loc Tan section will be upgraded to grade-II road standards, with 4-6 lanes; and the Loc Tan-Hoa Lu border gate section will be built under a plan of the border gate economic zone.

- National highway 20: Of the 268 km-long highway running from Dau Giay (Dong Nai province) to Da Lat (Lam Dong province), the 76 km-long section within the southern key economic region which starts from national highway 1 (Dau Giay T-junction. Dong Nai province) and end 5 at the boundary of Lam Dong province, will be basically maintained at grade-Ill road standards, with 2 lanes.

- National highway 1K: The 12 km-long highway running from Vuon Mil T-junction (km 0) lo the trans-Asian highway (Ho Chi Minh City) will be maintained at grade-I urban road standards.

- National highway 30: The section within the southern key economic region, 9 km long. will be upgraded to grade-II road standards, with 4 lanes, while a 9 km-long section starting at An Huu T-junclion and linking national highway 1 to the expressway, will be built up to grade-II road standards, with 4 lanes.

- National highway 60: The 3.38 km-long section within the southern key economic region, which runs through My Tho city, will be upgraded up lo reach grade-Ill road standards. with 2 lanes.

- National highway 62: The highway, from Tan An town lo Moc Hoa border gate. 77 km long, will be upgraded to reach grade-Ill road standards, with 2 lanes.

- Ho Chi Minh Road (national highway 14 and N2 route): The section within the southern key economic region is around 280 km long. In the immediate future, to build and upgrade Tan Canh-Chon Thanh, Chon Thanh-Due Hoa and My An-Vam Cong sections to grade-Ill road standards, with 2 lanes. The remaining sections will be step by step built up to expressway standards in conformity with approved plans and financial capacity.

Ho Chi Minh City s belt roads:

- Belt road 3: Starting from the southern inter­regional expressway crossroads (Nhon Trach). through Tan Van road T-junction, the belt road of Bien Hoa city and Bung township (Binh Duong province), heading north of Hoc Mon township to Thanh Nien road (along An Ha canal, near Nhi Xuan and Le Minh Xuan farms), running along Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway to Cho Dem traffic hub (Binh Chanh district), 89.3 km long, 6-8 lanes.

- Belt road 4: Starting from Phu My urban center (crossing Bien Hoa -Vung Tau expressway) -Trang Bom (national highway 1) - Thu Bien bridge (spanning over Dong Nai river) - Ben Cat - Phu Thuan bridge (spanning Saigon river) - Cu Chi (national highway 22) -Hau Nghia township and Hoa Khanh, running parallel with provincial road 380 (Ho Chi Minh City) to Ben Luc (the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong-Long Hiep industrial park expressway) (national highway 1) - national highway 50 to Hiep Phuoc port industrial park, 196.5 km long. 6-8 lanes.

Functional axes:

- Border corridor roads (the extended national highway 14C and NT route): To build and upgrade border corridor roads to reach at least grade-IV road standards, with 2 lanes, of which the extended national highway 14C s section within the southern key economic region is 332 km long, running through the three provinces of Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and Long An; the route starling from Bu Gia Map (the boundary of Dak None: province) through Loc Tan T-junction, Loc Thinh, Minh Due, Ka Turn, Tan Thanh and Thanh Long and intersecting Nl route (Dong Thanh, Long An province), and Nl route. 105 km long, from Dong Thanh (Long An province) to the boundary of Dong Thap province.

- Coastal roads: The section within the southern key economic region, 197 km long, from Ba Ria-Vung Tau province through Ho Chi Minh City to Tien Giang province will be created on the basis of existing roads. Due to big estuaries, the route is interrupted in Ho Chi Minh City and Tien Giang province, including a 140.5 km-long section within Ba Ria-Vung Tau province from Binh Chau to the southern inter-regional expressway (along national highway 51, urban roads, provincial road 965 and inter-port roads), which will be built to reach at least gradc-IV urban road standards), a 12.5 km-long section running through Ho Chi Minh City from Hung Thanh to Dong Hoa, which will be built up to urban-road standards; and two sections running through Tien Giang province. including a 33 km-long section from My Xuan (national highway 50) to Nghia Chi which will be built up to at least grade-IV road standards (to be built based on some district and inter-communal roads) and a 9 km-long section from Ba Lam boat-landing to Ba Tu boat-landing which will be built up to at least grade-IV road standards.

- Cai Mep-Thi Vai inter-port road: From lower Cai Mep container port (Tan Thanh district. Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) to Phuoc An port (Long Thanh district. Dong Nai province), 21,3 km long. 6 lanes.

- Dong Nai inter-port road: From Ong Keo industrial park (at big Cha La canal) to Viet Thuan Thanh general port (Nhon Trach district. Dong Nai province), 15.2 km long, 4-6 lanes.

- My Phuoc-Tan Van road: From My Phuoc to Tan Van (Binh Duong province), 26.7 km long, 6 lanes.

- Go Gang-Long Son road: From Go Gang island to Long Son island (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province), 4.962 km long, 4 lanes, and Cha Va bridge of 1,152 m long.

To step by step expand the national highways sections running through urban centers and populous areas in accordance with approved plans; to build necessary bypasses for some urban centers; to upgrade some provincial roads to national highways to meet practical demands and criteria of national highways defined in the Law on Road Traffic.

b/ Railway

To renovate the existing railways:

The North-South railway: To upgrade and modernize the 110 km-long section within the southern key economic region to grade-1 national railway standards before 2020.

Railways to be built:

- Ho Chi Minh City railways: To build a 48 km-long Trang Bom-Binh Trieu section, a bypass to the south of Bien Hoa city; an electrified double-track railway belt section to the west (An Binh-Tan Kien). 31 km long, and 1,435 mm-widc; an electrified overhead railway section from Binh Trieu through Hoa Hung to Tan Kien. 16 km long, double-track, and 1.435 mm wide.

- Bien Hoa-Vung Tau electrified high-speed railway, 79 km long, double-track. 1.435 mm wide, which is linked to Ben Dinh - Sao Mai and Thi Vaj - Cai Mep ports.

- To study the construction of an electrified high-speed railway from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho, 191.3 km long, of which the 65 km-long section running within the southern key economic region will be electrified, double-track and 1.435 mm wide.

- To study the construction of a 128.5 km-long Di An - Loc Ninh railway which is also connected to Cambodia so as to create a link with ASEAN countries; the railway is projected to be built as grade-I single-track railway, with the possible development into a double-track railway.

- To study the construction of a 15 km-long railway running to ports in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, namely Thi Vai-Cai Mep and Ben Dinh-Sao Mai; and a 35 km-long railway running to Hiep Phuoc port.

- To study the construction of an electrified l,435mm-widc. double-track North-South express railway at an appropriate time. It is projected to initially build Nha Trang-Ho Chi Minh City section, of which the section within the southern key economic region will be 74 km long.

- To study the construction of some railways in the Ho Chi Minh City area: Tan Thoi Hiep-Trang Bang section, 33 km long, and Thu Thiem-Nhon Trach-Long Thanh airport electrified section. 30 km long, double-track. 1,435 mm wide.

- To form an urban railway network in Ho Chi Minh City and develop railways for the passenger transportation from the inner city to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

c/ Seaway

Seaports

- Vung Tau port Ba Ria-Vung Tau province): It is an international gateway, a IA-class national multi-purpose port, embracing the following principal functional wharves:

Cai Mep wharf, Sao Mai-Ben Dinh, the major wharf of the port, mainly for handling import and export containers on ships of between 80,000 and 100,000 DWT (6.000-8,000 TEU), with an annual capacity of 55-60 million tons by 2015 and 75-SO million tons/year by 2020.

Phu My wharf. My Xuan: lb be used mainly for handling containers for ships of between 50,000 and 80.000 DWT (4.000-6.000 TEU), with an annual handling capacity of 20-25 million tons by 2015 and 25-30 million tons by 2020. There will be also some piers exclusively for riverbank industrial and service establishments.

Long Son wharf: To be mainly used for the petrochemical and refinery complex with a floating depot for receiving crude oil from 300,000-DWT ships and a depot for handling cargo for ships of between 30,000 and 50.000 DWT; its annual handling capacity will reach 20-22 million tons by 2015 and 28-30 million tons by 2020; the southeastern bank area will be reserved for the construction of a multi-purpose wharf for long-term development.

Dinh river wharf: To be used mainly for petroleum exploitation, building and repairing sea drilling platforms and also as a local multi­purpose wharf for ships of between 5.000 and 30.000 tons; its handling capacity will reach 3.5-3.8 million tons/year by 2015 and 4.5-5 million tons/year by 2020.

The passenger wharf in Sao Mai-Ben Dinh: It is a wharf for accommodating international tourist ships of up to 100,000 ORT for the whole region.

- Ho Chi Minh City port: It is a class-I multi-purpose national port, which also serves as a regional hub, embracing the following principal functional wharves:

Hiep Phuoc wharf (Soai Rap river), the major wharf of the port, which will be mainly used for handling containers on ships of 50,000 DWT (4.000 TEU). Its capacity will reach 18-20 million tons by 201.5 and 45-50 million tons by 2020. There will be also some wharves exclusively used for ships of between 20,000 and 30.000 DWT to serve industrial establishments.

Cat Lai wharf (Dong Nai river), the major container-handling wharf of the port: In the immediate future, it will be used for ships of between 20.000 and 30.000 DWT.

Wharves along Saigon and Nha Be rivers which are to be relocated or converted under the Prime Minister s Decision No. 791/QD-TTg of August 12, 2005: The wharves on Nha Be river will be renovated and upgraded (without expanding) to accommodate ships of up to 30,000 DWT; a wharf for passenger ships of up to 50.000 GRT will be built in Phu Thuan (downstream of Phu My bridge) while part of Khanh Hoi wharf will be converted into a domestic passenger wharf and maritime service center.

- Dong Nai port: It is a class-! national multi-purpose port, which also serves as a regional hub. embracing the following principal functional wharves:

Phuoc An and Go Dau wharves (Thi Vai river), the major wharves of the port, will be mainly used for handling cargo ships of up to 60,000 DWT (Phuoc An and My Xuan zones) or 30,000 DWT (Go Dau zone), with an annual handling capacity of 6,5-8 million tons by 2015 and 15-18 million tons by 2020. There will be some wharves exclusively used for riverbank industrial establishments.

Phu Hun and Nhon Trach wharves (on Dong Nai, Nha Be and Long Tau rivers) will be used as special-use wharves, with a general wht.rf for ships of between 10.000 and 30.000 DWT. with an annual handling capacity of 4.5-6 tons by 2015 and 10-12 million tons by 2020.

- Can Giuoc (Long An) and Go Cong (Tien Giang) wharves on Soai Rap river: They are satellite wharves of major ports of Ho Chi Minn City, including general and special-use wharves for ships of between 20.000 and 50.000 DWT and a half-load craft of 70,000 DWT Their capacily will reach 2-2.5 million tons/year by 2015 and 5-6 million tons/year by 2020. The construction schedule will meet development requirements of each province and industrial parks along the river.

- Some special-use and satellite wharves for major ports, such as a wharf for passenger and cargo ships of between 5.000 and 10.000 DWT on Con Dao island: Tien Giang port on Tien river and small satellite ports on tributaries of Soai Rap, Long Tau. Dong Nai and Tien rivers.

Port fairways

- Long Tau ri ver fairways v ia Ganh Rai bay: To renovate some sharp bends and maintain the depth of Long Tau fairway so as to assure entry and exit of ships of up to 30.000 DWT.

- Soai Rap river fairway: To dredge and upgrade Soai Rai fairway, the section from the sea to Binh Khanh, for ships of 50.000 DWT or 4,000 TEU. To renovate some sharp bends and maintain the depth of Long Tau fairway for ships of 30,000 DWT. In the immediate future, to maintain the depth of -12 m.

- Thi Vai - Cai Mep river fairways: To dredge and upgrade the section from the sea to Ben Dinh - Sao Mai area to serve ships of 100,000 DWT and container ships of 8.000 TEL; and the section to Cai Mep wharf for ships of 80,000 DWT and container ships of 6.000 TEU. in the immediate future, to maintain the depth of -14 m and subsequently. -16 in. To upgrade the section to Phuoc An - Dong Nai wharf for ships of 60,000 DWT and container ships of 4,000 TEU and the section to Go Dau wharf for ships of 30.000 DWT. In the immediate future, to maintain the depth of-12 m.

- Dinh river fairway: To complete the construction of a modem system of maritime buoys and signals so as to ensure safe navigation.

- Tien river fair way via Tieu and Ham Luong estuaries: To regularly dredge the navigable channel in combination with building facilities to renovate and move marking buoys to serve the entry and exit of ships of 5,000 DWT at high tide.

Inland container depots

-The northeastern area of Ho Chi Minh City: To build inland container depots with an annual handling capacity of about 6 million tons of TEU. mainly for handling cargos transported via ports in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and Ho Chi Minh City.

- The southwestern area of Ho Chi Minh City: To build inland container depots with an annual handling capacity of about 1.7 million tons of TEU. mainly for handling cargo transported via Ba Ria-Vung Tan and Ho Chi Minn City ports and Tien Giang port.

d/ Inland waterways

Riverway routes

- Saigon - Kien Luong route (along Sa Dec - Lap Vo canal). 320 km long, of which the section within the southern key economic region is 122 km long, will be upgraded up to grade-Ill inland waterways.

- Saigon - Kien Luong route (along Thap Muoi canal). 288 km long, of which the section within the southern key economic region is 76 km long, will be upgraded to reach grade-Ill technical standards.

- Saigon - Ca Mail route (along Xa No canal). 170 km long, of which the section within the southern key economic region is 102 km long, will be upgraded to reach grade-Ill technical standards.

- Saigon - Ben Suc oute. 90 km long, will be upgraded to reach grade-Ill technical standards.

- Saigon - Ben Keo (Tay Ninh) route. 170 km long, will be upgraded to reach grade-Ill technical standards.

- Saigon port - Moc Hoa (Long An province) route will be maintained at grade-Ill technical standards.

- Saigon port - Hieu Liem (Dong Nai river) route. 90 km long. To continue destroying ledges and removing obstacles and build new bridges in replacement of bridges with a clearance height unsuitable to the river grade as planned; to upgrade the route to grade-Ill technical standards.

- Cho Gao canal route, 28.5 km long, which connects Vam Co river (Dong Nai province) and Tien river (Tien Giang province), will be upgraded while the river bed will be dredged so as to reach grade-II technical standards.

- To renovate and upgrade other riverway routes. Specifically, Moc Hoa - Ha Tien route will be upgraded to reach grade-IV technical standards and PIiuoc Xuyen - canal 28 route, to reach grade-III standards.

- To form coastal transport routes: Sai Gon -Ca Man and Vung Tau - Thi Vai - Mekong River delta.

Inland waterway ports

To upgrade 3 ports in Ho Chi Minn City area, namely Phu Dinh, Nhon Due and Long Binh, for accommodating ships of up to 3,000 DWT. with an annual handling capacity of 1.5 million ions by 2020.

To build new Tan An port (Long An province) for accommodating ships of between 500 and 5,000 DWT.

To make intensive investment in upgrading existing local inland waterway ports and wharves for accommodating ships of between 500 and 1,000 DWT; to build and upgrade some passenger ports for ships of between 100 and 250 seats.

e/ Airway

- Tan Son Nhat international airport: To be further developed so as to reach 4E grade, with an annual capacity of 24 million passengers and 350,000 tons of cargo.

- Long Thanh international airport: To be built and put into phase-1 commission, including 2 runways. 1 station module (with an annual capacity of 25-30 million passengers) and a system of taxiways. apron areas and synchronous supporting facilities. The airport will be further invested and expanded so as to replace Tan Son Nhat. international airport and become the largest international airport in the southern region, of 4F grade and an annual capacity of 80-100 million passengers.

- Con Son domestic airport: To be upgraded to 4C grade with an annual capacity of 500,000 passengers and 2,000 tons of cargo.

- Vung Tau domestic airport: To be upgraded to 3C grade, with an annual capacity of 100,000 passengers and 500 tons of cargo, mainly serving tourist and petroleum-purpose flights. To study the building of Go Cong airport as a substitute.

e/ Urban transport and local transport

To develop urban transport and local transport according to approved plans.

3. Priority investment projects

Investment priority will be given to projects which must be invested during 2011-2015 to tackle traffic congestion, meet the demand for synchronous linkage of the transport infrastructure networks and act as a motive force for regional development.

4. Estimated land fund

The land fund reserved for building the national transport infrastructure system in the southern key economic region, including roads. railways, airports, seaports, river ports and stations and storing yards (excluding urban transport and rural transport) through 2020 will be about 120.000 hectares, accounting for 4% of the total land area of the region.

IV. MAJOR SOLUTIONS AND POLICIES

1. Transportation development solutions and policies

- To create a fair business environment for all economic sectors and encourage them to participate in transport business.

- To organize rational transportation and improve service quality; to prioritize the development of container transportation, multimodal transportation and logistic services so as to attain reasonable regulation among different modes of transport; to organize transport hubs, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, and reduce the number of vehicles passing the inner city, causing traffic congestion.

- To prioritize the development of urban passenger transport, especially large-volume passenger transport, while controlling the development of personal vehicles.

- To renew vehicles and transport technologies and equipment, using clean energy or energy saving ones.

2. Infrastructure development solutions and policies

- To improve the investment environment and create favorable conditions to strongly attract international capital sources.

- To mobilize all resources, attaching special importance to domestic ones, and create favorable conditions to attract domestic and foreign capital from various economic sectors in various forms: state budget (including ODA capital), bond issuance, build-operate-transfer (BOT); public-private partnership (PPP), transfer of business rights, and exploitation of land and other services, for investment in the development of transport infrastructure facilities.

- To apply new and advanced technologies and new materials in building transport infrastructure facilities.

- From now to 201.5, to concentrate investment in building transport infrastructure facilities which can increase regional linkage, linkage among different modes of transport and ease traffic congestion.

- To intensity the management and maintenance of transport infrastructure facilities, setting aside an appropriate amount of capital for maintenance work and early establishing a road maintenance fund.

3. Traffic safety solutions and policies

- To actively and synchronously implement solutions to reduce traffic accidents. To improve public awareness and sense of law observance and, at the same time, strictly handle violations of traffic rules.

- To conduct traffic safety appraisal for all works, upgraded and newly built, further apply advanced traffic support and control technologies.

- To increase the quality of driver training, examination and management and the quality of inspection of motor vehicles.

4. Environmental protection solutions and policies

- To strictly manage transport development projects right from the planning stage so as to ensure their compliance with plans on ecological zones and nature conservation zones. In case environmental problems arise, it is necessary to decide whether transport infrastructure facilities would be built or not; if deciding to build these facilities, it is required to identify measures to protect the natural environment as well as social environment so as to minimize impacts on the ecological systems and living environment.

- To use advanced techniques and technologies in the construction of transport works, to plant trees along roads to prevent dusts and reduce noise.

- To control the quality of vehicles and fuels, reduce environmental pollution; to encourage the use of clean vehicles and fuels.

- To take the initiative in effectively responding to the impacts of climate change on transport infrastructure facilities.

Article 2.Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Transport shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, branches and the People s Committees of the provinces and centrally run cities in the region in, managing and organizing the implementation of this master plan. During the course of implementation, it shall consider and evaluate the practical situation for prompt adjustment and supplementation.

2. Ministries, branches and the provinces and centrally run cities in the region shall revise their plans in conformity with this master plan and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport and other ministries, branches and localities in synchronously implementing this master plan so as to build an uninterrupted transport system with increased capacity.

Article 3.This Decision takes effect on March 10.2011.

Article 4.Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees shall implement this Decision.

APPENDIX

LIST OF PRIORITY WORKS/PROJECTS IN THE SOUTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION
(To the Prime Minister s Decision No. 06/201//QD-TTg of January 24, 2011)