The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to provide transaction advisory services to the Ministry of Transport (MOT) for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Third Ring Road project.

Under the agreement, ADB’s Office of Public-Private Partnership will support MOT in the development of a bankable public-private partnership (PPP) structure for the project to enable leveraging of private investments. 

The Third Ring Road will be constructed at radius of about 25 km from the HCMC center. The Tecn Luc-Nhon Trach section in the south of HCMC is financed by ADB under the GMS Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway Project. The Tan Van-Binh Chuan section in the north of HCMC is financed by private sector under the build-transfer arrangement.

Construction of Ho Chi Minh City ring roads aims to establish connectivity with neighboring cities, which is a high priority of the government. The proposed HCMC Third Ring Road (3RR) Project will facilitate diverting through-traffic and reducing traffic congestion in the center of HCMC. Through construction of 3RR, the connectivity of cities and towns around HCMC will also be improved, transport costs and travel times for the movement of passengers and goods in and around HCMC will be reduced. Moreover, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Eastern Corridor and Southern Corridor intersect at HCMC. 

ADB Country Director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick, said:

“There is a need to increasingly mobilize resources from private sector and better coordinate project preparation to develop bankable PPP projects in Viet Nam. A greater role for PPPs should be considered for infrastructure projects and impediments to the development of PPP transactions should continue to be identified and addressed.”