JTCA is a non-profit organization, established in 1973 under the authorization of the Ministry of Transport of Japan, with a view to promoting Japanese official development assistance (ODA) for the developing countries in the field of transportation. JTCA is comprised of 34 full members: most of the major Japanese consulting firms and organizations, which are engaged in international cooperation activities. Since its inception, JTCA has been promoting Japan ODA in the transport sector.
Our emphasis has been put on project formation in the transport sector, which, we hope, eventually leads to master plans and feasibility studies to be conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) or to the yen-loan to be disbursed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Quite a number of study teams were sent and seminars organized by JTCA for this purpose.
In recent years, JTCA has been working closely with the Transport Development and Strategy Institute (TDSI) to hold seminars on various transport issues every year. Here, in HCMC three years ago, we held a seminar with a view to introduce experiences of transport infrastructure development.
Today's seminar is organized jointly by JTCA and TDSI for the purpose of discussing the future of urban transport in HCMC with a special emphasis on the strategy for the possible introduction and development of a mass transit system. HCMC is one of the major metropolises in the Southeast Asia, with its population exceeding 5 million. The growth of Vietnamese economy has been especially rapid in recent years, and expected to accelerate further in the future.
As in the case of other Asian countries, rapid macro economic growth inevitably brings about population concentration and urbanization, accelerating the pace of urban motorization. The rapid motorization in large cities then causes severe traffic congestion and environmental pollution by toxic and exhausted gas, which badly affect the quality of urban life, sometimes jeopardizing the safety of living. Moreover, the acceleration of motorization with such adverse effects likely affect the economic growth itself.
In order to safeguard the safety for urban population and sustainable economic growth, it becomes a necessity to regulate the use of private automobiles and motorbikes within a city. But more than that, it is vital to develop an efficient public transportation system as an alternative for private means of transportation. In other words, mass transit system is of vital importance for the growth of a large metropolis.
An urban mass transit system at the same time is environmentally friendlier and more efficient in energy consumption. However, construction of a mass transit system requires for a huge sum of capital. The management and operation of a mass transits system also require for advanced technologies and expertise. Its operation must be financially sound, and therefore, an issue of cost sharing on the side of passengers arises.
