Le Van Pha, deputy general director of Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO), the project developer, said that the project is 90% complete. However, the passenger management software, surveillance cameras, automated teller machines and catering service facilities have yet to be installed.
SAMCO is in the process of choosing a firm to do the job in line with the city’s requirements, Pha added.
He expressed concern over the progress of road projects around the new coach station, including the metro line No. 1 project. Even though the station is completed, it cannot be put into service if roads leading to the station have yet to be expanded and upgraded.
The road developers are working together, so the new coach station will be inaugurated as soon as possible, said Pha.
According to Doan Ngoc Hai, head of the road transport management division, under the HCMC Department of Transport, SAMCO had earlier proposed that the first phase of the new coach station project, including a passenger terminal area, parking lots and a wastewater treatment center, be put into operation on September 2. The department will work out a traffic regulation plan to ensure the smooth operation of the station.
As for the traffic system around the project, Hai stressed that these roads would not be ready until early next year.
In fact, the new coach station and road projects are being executed by different investors. For example, HCMC Infrastructure Investment JSC is in charge of the Song Hanh street project; the District 9 government, the A8, 13 and Hoang Huu Nam streets; and the Urban Traffic Management Zone 2, a tunnel and an overpass project. All of these projects have yet to be kicked off.
Le Ngoc Hung, director of the Urban Traffic Management Zone 2, said that the firm would begin work on the project in the last quarter of this year.
According to the municipal government, the existing Mien Dong Coach Station in Binh Thanh District will be divided into two sections: Section A will accommodate a parking lot for buses and passenger cars and section B will house a complex of commercial and service-oriented facilities, offices for lease and a hotel.
The city will hold tenders to choose investors for these projects to raise capital for the new Mien Dong Coach Station project, which is located between the city’s District 9 and Binh Duong Province’s Di An Town.
On April 26, 2017, SAMCO began work on the project, which requires a total investment of some VND4 trillion (US$172.1 million). The project will be executed based on the models of modern coach stations in South Korea and Japan.