HCM City (VNA) - Work to relocate HCMCity’s Eastern Bus Terminal (Ben Xe Mien Dong) in Binh Thanh district willbegin in early 2018, allowing tens of thousands of passengers to use dailyservices, the general director of the Eastern Bus Terminal has said.

Nguyen Ngoc Thua said the relocation of the busterminal would be done in three stages, with the first stage to start duringthe Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday of 2018.

The city’s Department of Transport has asked theSai Gon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO) – the operator of fourbus terminals in HCM City – to provide bus services to transport passengers fromthe existing location in Binh Thanh district to the new facility in District 9.

SAMCO broke ground for construction of the newEastern Bus Terminal in District 9 in April.

The new Eastern Bus Terminal will cover an areaof 16ha, three times as large compared to the existing Eastern Bus Terminal inBinh Thanh district.

This will include 12.3ha in District 9 and 3.7hain the southern province of Binh Duong’s Di An district, according to Tran QuocToan, CEO of SAMCO.

The new bus terminal will be connected withMetro Line No 1, linking Ben Thanh Terminal in District 1 with Suoi TienTerminal in District 9.

It is designed to accommodate more than sevenmillion passengers each year who travel to eastern provinces as well as tolocalities in the central region and northern Vietnam.

It will also provide services to 21,000passengers and accommodate 1,200 buses per day.

[HCM City improves bus services]

The figures are expected to increase to 52,000passengers and 1,800 buses per day on holidays and during the traditional Tet(Lunar New Year) festival, SAMCO said

The new bus terminal will help ensure trafficorder and wipe out illegal bus services and parking spaces in the city.

Located on land between HCM City and Binh Duong province,the new Eastern Bus Terminal is expected to play an important role in thecity’s transportation system, according to SAMCO.

According to Le Van Khoa, Vice Chairman of thecity’s People’s Committee, the new terminal complex would link urban areas withpublic transport networks and include multi-story parking spaces, maintenanceareas, fuel stations, cargo depots and commercial centres.

The new bus terminal is expected to reducetraffic congestion and the number of accidents in the city through 2020.

It will also replace the existing Eastern BusStation, which is in an inner city district and no longer suited to the city’surban development plan.

The terminal complex will also help facilitatetransportation between HCM City and neighbouring provinces, Khoa said.

Tang Thi Thu Ly, deputy director general ofSAMCO, said that total capital for the project amounted to 773 billion VND (34.5million USD).

SAMCO also revealed that an investment of 726billion VND has been prepared for compensation for site clearance forconstruction of Western Bus Terminal (Ben Xe Mien Tay) in An Phu Tay commune inBinh Chanh district.

The city’s People Committee has asked the city’sDepartment of Natural Resources and Environment to facilitate procedures for landrecovery, and has told Binh Chanh district People’s Committee to complete siteclearance for the Western Bus Terminal before September 30.

The new Western Bus Terminal is located on a 24.2haarea, including 17ha for the bus terminal and a 7.3ha depot for bus maintenanceservices.-VNA