Expressways 2022: 180 km completed, another 181 km to open to traffic

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told voters Thursday that work will be completed on 180 kilometers of expressways this year, while another 181 km will open to traffic.

At the meeting in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, he also said that authorities were preparing to kick off the second phase of the North-South Expressway later this year.

Voters asked the PM about the slow progress of many transport infrastructure projects including the Long Thanh InternationalAirport, the eastern session of the North-South Expressway and others in the southern region and the Mekong Delta.

The PM said slow progress would lead to capital spillover and wastefulness and urged localities to strengthen their role in implementing projects, especially in site clearance.

Emphasizing the year’s achievements, the PM noted that the Cao Bo-Mai Son, La Son-Tuy Loan, Ha Long-Van Don, Van Don-Mong Cai, and Trung Luong-My Thuan expressways had opened to traffic.

Meanwhile, in a report to the National Assembly, the Transport Ministry said six of 10 sub-projects of the North-South expressway were behind schedule.

Specifically, the Mai Son-National Highway 45 sub-project was 69.5% complete, 1.5% behind schedule; and the Dien Chau-Bai Vot sub-project, a public-private partnership (PPP), was 13.7% complete, 7.7% behind the schedule.

The ministry attributed the delays to unfavorable weather conditions, surging prices of input materials, the Covid-19 pandemic, and sluggish site clearance.

The state budget has allocated VND47,831 billion ($1.98 billion) for the 2018-2022 first phase of the North-South Expressway, including VND15,484 billion this year. As of mid-September 2022, the disbursed amount was VND40,365 billion, or 84.4% of the plan, according to the report.

Four sub-projects of the North-South Expressway's first phase, namely Mai Son-National Highway 45, Cam Lo-La Son, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet, and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay, were 66.9% complete as of early September, or 2.5% behind the schedule, due to unfavorable weather conditions and insufficient financial resources of contractors, the ministry said.

It added that 12 sub-projects of the North-South Expressway's second phase were scheduled to kick off in December. All relevant documents for these would be completed in November.