Construction of the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway, which will be the first to connect the Mekong Delta with Vietnam's national expressway network, began on Saturday.
The project has investment of VND44.69 trillion ($1.9 billion) from the state budget.
The 188-kilometer expressway will run through the provinces of An Giang, Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Soc Trang, and will have four lanes with a maximum speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour in the first phase. The second phase will expand to six lanes, and the project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan attended the groundbreaking ceremony in An Giang, while Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai joined the event in Soc Trang.
The expressway will be the first to connect the Mekong Delta with the national expressway network, and is one of six planned expressways for the region with a total length of 1,188 kilometers by 2050. The project aims to connect economics hubs, border gates, and seaports in the Mekong Delta, driving socioeconomic growth in the region.
PM Chinh praised the Ministry of Transport and the four localities for their speedy preparation of the project within a year, instead of the usual two years. He also urged them to focus on site clearance and compensation for affected residents, aiming to hand over 100% of the land by the end of this year.
According to the transport ministry, the Mekong Delta currently has 90 kilometers of expressways and another 458 kilometers under construction, which are scheduled to be finished by 2025.
Per the planning until 2050, the Mekong Delta will have 1,188 out of the 9,014 kilometers of expressways across Vietnam, including 760 kilometers by 2030 and 420 kilometers more after 2030.
Construction on a section of the Ring Road 3 around Ho Chi Minh City and on the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, which is also part of the Southern Key Economic Zone (SKEZ), is scheduled to start on Sunday.
The SKEZ covers HCMC and the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An, Ba Ria- Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, and Tien Giang. Ring Road 3 will run 76.3 kilometers through HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An. It will cost an estimated VND75.4 trillion ($3.2 billion).
The Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project is located in Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The first phase, with investment capital of VND17.8 trillion ($757 million), should be completed in 2025 and opened in 2026.