HCM City (VNA) - Officials and experts have called on theHo Chi Minh City People’s Committee to adopt smart traffic systems to reducethe congestion around Cat Lai port in district 2.

Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan hasheld a meeting with city officials and experts from the HCM City InternationalUniversity and relevant agencies to discuss the problem.

He had earlier visited the My Thuy intersection to survey thetraffic situation near the port.

At the meeting a Department of Transport official said his agencyhas been co-ordinating with the port management and other agencies to findsolutions to the congestion, which is badly affecting both businesses andresidents in the area. But their efforts have been useless so far, he admitted.

Some 17,000 vehicles enter the port daily, occasionally going upto even 19,000 - 22,000, while the capacity of the main street leading to it,Nguyen Thi Dinh, is not more than 15,000, according to the department.

According to the Vietnam Seaport Development Master Plan, thecargo transported through the port is expected to reach 36 million tonnes peryear by 2020. But the volume has exploded, crossing 53 million tonnes lastyear.

The transport official said many infrastructure works are underconstruction in the vicinity, worsening a bad situation.  

Solutions

An official from Sai Gon New Port Corporation, the port operator,called for speeding up infrastructure works around the port to ease thecongestion.

Besides, authorities should crack down on illegal parking lots andtraffic violations, the official said.

Associate Prof. Ho Thanh Phong, the principal of the university,urged city authorities to install a smart traffic system around the Cat LaiPort.

Smart systems gather traffic data, check traffic routes, monitorvehicles and take over traffic lights in case of congestion, he said.

Such systems are in place in the Sai Gon River Tunnel and on Vo VanKiet Boulevard, he said.

Nhan said: "A smart traffic system is essential and should beinstalled as soon as possible. Based on traffic data provided by the system,city authorities can find solutions more efficiently and faster.”

He said the transport department should deploy it at traffichotspots like the Cat Lai Port and Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The university should estimate its cost and co-ordinate withrelevant agencies to install the system soon near the port, he said.

He also urged the city to speed up construction of Ring Road 2 andother works to complete them on schedule.

He said the People’s Committee should have smart traffic systemsin place all over the city by 2020.-VNA