Deputy PM urges acceleration of North-South Expressway project

A section running through Tan An city (Long An province) of Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway, part of the North-South Expressway (Photo: VNA)

At a meeting to review the project’s progress on June 22, Deputy PM Dung urged the MoT to promptly make investment preparations in line with legal regulations so as to prevent losses and complete the project on schedule.

“Bidding must be carried out publicly to select the most suitable investors so as to ensure the project’s efficiency, quality and progress,” he noted.

He asked localities, other ministries and sectors to coordinate closely with the MoT to address difficulties in procedures, capital, and compensation for and resettlement of displaced people.

The Deputy PM also told the MoT to standardize technical and architectural requirements for rest areas along the North-South Expressway so that they will provide modern, convenient and civilized services for passengers.

The North-South Expressway has total length of over 2,100km, traversing 32 provinces and cities. The project is divided into three phases.

In the 2017 – 2020 period, more than 650km of the road running through 13 provinces and cities will be built. There are 11 sub-projects in this period.

From 2021 to 2025, the sections of Bai Vot (Ha Tinh province) – Cam Lo (Quang Tri province) and Quang Ngai province – Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa province) will be constructed. Meanwhile, the section from La Son (Thua Thien-Hue province) to Tuy Loan (Da Nang city) will be upgraded from two lanes to four lanes.

The section from Can Tho city to Ca Mau city of Ca Mau province will be built and put into operation after 2025.

Total investment for the project in 2017 – 2020 will be 118.7 trillion VND (5.2 billion USD), including 55 trillion VND (2.4 billion USD) from the Government and the remainder raised from investors through public-private partnership./.

VNA