The HCM City Party and government leaders have asked agency authorities to prevent further large holes appearing in roads to lower the number of traffic accidents that have been occurring.

>>City leaders tackle measures dealing with road depression

Photo: Internet

The secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, Le Thanh Hai, on Tuesday asked the city Department of Transport to invite scientists to identify the causes of the problems.

He asked city authorities to ensure safety for drivers and other road users.

Hai approved a proposal to buy modern equipment that can look for leaks in pipelines, one of the reasons for the holes appearing.

He said residents and road users should be immediately informed of any new holes.

The city should also set up a system of signals to warn city residents of risky areas.

Violators operating overloaded vehicles, which can damage roads and underground infrastructure, must be seriously penalised.

Road repavement must be closely checked, and only standard materials accepted for re-pavement, said Hai.

According to the director of HCM City's Department for Transport, Tran Quang Phuong, 31 large holes ands collapsed areas were reported in the city in the past three months.

Phuong said the deterioration of the existing infrastructure had caused damage to the sewage and water supply systems.

He said project developers had not followed required construction procedures properly.

The latest roadslide took place on Hai Ba Trung Street in mid-October when a two-metre-long and one-metre-wide hole suddenly appeared on the road surface.

The department said most of these holes had appeared in areas where there had been work on installation of sewage pipes.

The most affected streets include Le Van Sy, Pham Van Hai, Nguyen Kiem,Au Co, Hai Ba Trung, No Trang Long and Nguyen Van Dau.

Nguyen Van Dua, deputy secretary of HCM City's Party Committee, said that stricter management of underground water exploitation, especially at industrial parks and complexes, must be undertaken.

Improper exploitation of underground water at industrial parks has been identified as one of the reasons that have caused the roads to collapse.

Source: VNS