[SingViet]

Just one of the many examples to illustrate the lack of government funds :

Traffic projects delayed by lack of funds

HCM CITY — Construction of several key traffic projects in HCM City have been delayed for lack of funds, local officials say.

The Bang Ky Bridge in Binh Thanh District, a road section to link Hoang Dieu Street in District 4 to Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in District 7, the expansion of Truong Chinh and Tan Ky Tan Quy streets and two traffic jam hotspots in Tan Binh District, were among the projects on which work could not begin, said Le Quyet Thang, director of the city's Urban Traffic Management Unit 1.

Thang said delays have also occurred in the project to upgrade Ben Van Don Street in District 4 and Provincial Road 10B in Binh Tan District. The unit was pushing hard for funds for these projects because they were urgent, he added.

The Nguoi Lao dong (Labourer) newspaper quoted deputy director Le Ngoc Hung of the city's Urban Traffic Management Unit 2 saying he hoped to receive VND20 billion (US$967,000) for completing work on the Go Dua Intersection in Thu Duc District, which has been delayed for eight years. Tran Quang Vinh, director of the city's Urban Traffic Management Unit 3, said the construction of 11 bridges on provincial Road 9 that linked the city's Hoc Mon District with Duc Hoa District in neighbouring Long An Province had been delayed.

"Some of the bridges have small capacities at present, but these are having to bear continuous traffic of heavy trucks everyday. The risk of collapse is obvious," said Vinh.

Thang, Hung, and Vinh said they were doing their best to get capital for the projects, but the funding decision rested with higher ranking agencies.

The city's Department of Transport said it received VND1.12 trillion ($53 million) for traffic infrastructure construction projects this year, but this could only meet 30 per cent of the capital needed for basic traffic constructions around the city.

The managers of the traffic management units said they were also experiencing difficulties accessing maintenance funds; not good news for a city teeming with 5.2 million vehicles. —VNS