HCM City targets US$1.4 billion from economic benefits
(VOV) -Ho Chi Minh City could generate economic benefits of US$1.4 billion by making its transportation system more resilient in extreme weather conditions, according to a study by Siemens and Arup.
Calculations based on a review of HCM City’s transportation network illustrate that – without intelligent solutions – its traffic congestion is estimated to have a direct cost to the city’s economy of approximately US$97 billion between 2015 and 2045.
Around 45% of the city is less than a meter above sea level, rendering the city and in particular, the transport system highly exposed to flooding, especially during the rainy season. An economic appraisal shows that an Integrated Management System (control centre) would take only 8 years to become net positive in terms of costs and benefits. This could lead to a net benefit of US$1.4 billion over the next 30 years.
“Infrastructure has a long lifespan. Investments made today will determinate the future development of any city tomorrow, especially when it has to cope with both population growth and an increase in severe weather events such as flooding,” Michael Stevns, Siemens project leader of the study, said in HCM City.
“When a city relies heavily on individual traffic, the biggest lever is mass transport. Metro lines could be a solution, but they are very expensive and take very long to build. Intelligent traffic management systems can provide a head start for a more comprehensive mobility management approach”, said Stephen Cook, Associate Director of Energy and Climate Change Consulting at Arup.
In HCM City, where public transport only represents 5% of total traffic, the number of delay minutes is forecast to increase by 620% over the next 30 years assuming no investments are made in transportation infrastructure, according to Arup analysis. Recent evidence suggest that the frequency, extent and severity of extreme weather events is increasing around the world exposing cities’ transport infrastructure to more severe stresses and sudden shock events.
According to the World Bank (WB), around 26% of the city’s population is currently affected by extreme storm events, but this share could climb to more than 60% by 2050. The study shows that intelligent systems that forecast and respond to the impact of damaging weather events on the transportation system can ensure that periods of disruption are minimized and long‑term economic sustainability is not undermined.