Traffic congestion for kilometres on local streets, including at Nguyen Huu Tho-Nguyen Van Linh crossroads is an everyday experience. 

Traffic jam in HCM City's southern area

Traffic in the area around the construction site of Kenh Te Bridge has worsened over the past four months because of its surrounding fences.

Tran Van Bien in District 7 said that these days, since Kenh Te Bridge's construction was started, it has taken him up to 1.5 hours to travel 6.2 kilometres from his home to his office compared to just around 30 minutes previously. So, he has to leave home before 6:30 am.

Over the past decade, the southern area in the city has seen a boom in real estate projects. For instance, a 4-km section on Nguyen Huu Tho Street alone which runs through District 7 and Nha Be District is home to a range of projects.

Despite the rising population, transport infrastructure from the southern area to the city centre mostly depends on Kenh Te, Nguyen Van Cu and Khanh Hoi bridges. Hundreds of thousands of workers from Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, Hiep Phuoc Port and Industrial Zone have added more to the traffic in the southern gate. 

Dr Phạm Sanh, an expert on urban transport, said that Nguyen Tat Thanh-Huynh Tan Phat and Khanh Hoi-Nguyen Huu Tho routes linking the southern area with the city centre are seriously overloaded. Along the roads are lots of residential areas and supermarkets.

He suggested that the city’s Department of Transport should consider expanding roads and building more bridges to ease traffic congestion.