Vietnam’s PM attends groundbreaking ceremony for expressways

HCM City, The Gulf Observer: Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday attended the groundbreaking ceremony in HCM City for three important road projects in the south: HCM City’s Ring Road No.3, Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressways.

The total length of the three projects is nearly 250km and the combined investment stands at VNĐ115 trillion (US$4.8 billion).

HCM City’s Ring Road No.3 is 76km long, passing through four localities including HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An. The project is divided into eight components, with each province/city implementing two components including land clearance and construction.

The preliminary total investment capital for the project is about VNĐ75.378 trillion ($3.2 billion) sourced from both the central and local budgets.

Phan Van Mai, Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, pledged to the Government and the people to coordinate with relevant authorities to closely monitor the progress of the project to make sure the construction is completed in 2025 and put into operation from 2026.

Once completed, the road will feature eight lanes for high-speed vehicles (maximum speed for cars set at 100 km/h, or 60km/h in urban areas).

The Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot expressway project has a total length of about 117.5 km and a total investment of nearly VNĐ22 trillion (nearly $935 million). The project is divided into three component projects, with Khanh Hoa Province, the Ministry of Transport and Dak Lak Province being the managing agencies.

According to the plan, phase 1 of the Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot expressway project will finish some sections with large traffic volumes in 2025, complete the entire route in 2026, and put the entire project into operation in 2027.

Phase 1 of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway project has a total length of nearly 54 km. In phase 1, the project will be invested with a scale of 4-6 lanes for each section of the route, with a design speed of 100km/h. In the completion phase, the expressway will be expanded to have 6-8 lanes. The total investment capital for the project is VNĐ17.837 billion ($758 million).

According to the proposed schedule, phase 1 of the expressway project will be basically completed in 2025 and the entire project put into operation in 2026.

Addressing the ceremony, PM Chinh said these were the three important transport projects that had received approval from the Politburo and the National Assembly, as well as support from the public, especially given that the amount of highways (in km) in the Central Highlands, Southeastern or Southwestern regions has not yet matched other regions in the country.

“Transport infrastructure, especially expressways, airports, and ports, bring evident positive changes to socio-economic development,” the Government leader noted.

The total length of highways under construction and those that have started construction by the end of June 2023 is 1,756 km.

“If we continue to exercise great determination, great effort, and decisive action, then we can basically achieve the national target of having 3,000km of new expressways by 2025,” PM Chính said.

According to the PM, the particular feature of the three projects launched today is that they all apply special mechanisms, including enhancing decentralisation and delegation of authority, whereby local authorities are assigned as managing agencies to implement the projects; mobilisation of resources for projects that combine both central and local budgets; and designating a contractor to shorten the preparation time for project implementation.

He also remarked on the complex, sensitive and difficult efforts to accelerate land clearance and resettlement support for the people affected by these projects in major cities such as HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

He lauded the engagement of all levels of the political system, under the leadership of the Party committees and the management of the local authorities, and with the support and sharing of the people, as well as the sacrifices of the relocated households, to help keep the land clearance progress for all three projects on the right track.

PM Chinh urged the authorities to devise sound plans to carry out the projects efficiently and avoid corruption and waste, while the leaders must closely follow the projects throughout the implementation processes.

The ministries were asked to coordinate with seven provinces and cities where the projects run through (HCM City, Long An, Binh Dương, Dong Nai, Ba Ria -Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak) to handle difficulties and bottlenecks that might arise in a timely manner.

The People’s Committees of provinces and cities must carry out land clearance and technical infrastructure relocation to ensure the handover of 100 per cent of the land area needed for the projects in the third quarter of 2023, or by December 31, 2023, at the latest, with special attention on providing the affected people with new housing, new jobs, and new living conditions that are at least equal to or better than their old ones.

PM Chinh requested and called on people who own land to support the State’s undertakings and create favourable conditions for units and localities to implement the projects.