Transport infrastructure upgrade paves road to Mekong Delta investment wave

Many localities in the Mekong Delta region are preparing to welcome an investment wave with new industrial parks and other facilities as key transport infrastructure projects including expressways take shape.

The transportation of goods from Mekong Delta localities to Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s most important economic hub, and vice versa, has mainly used National Highway 1A and the HCMC-Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway.

A series of vertical and horizontal expressway projects, coastal roads and river-crossing bridges that have been urgently completed are expected to remove several traffic bottlenecks and open up opportunities for the region’s development.

These include four underway expressways categorized as key national transport projects: Can Tho-Ca Mau; Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang; Cao Lanh-An Huu; and My An-Cao Lanh.

The above projects have a total length of 355 kilometers and combined investment capital of more than VND82.8 trillion ($3.4 billion).

As planned, the region will have a total of 554 kilometers of expressways by 2026.

According to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam, the government has allocated about VND96 trillion ($3.94 billion) for key inter-regional projects in the 2021-2025 period to facilitate smooth and convenient transport within the region and between the region and HCMC, the southeast key economic region and the country.

These projects will promote socio-economic development and ensure national defence and security in the region, Lam said.

In mid-October, the My Thuan 2 Bridge had its parts linked. The 23-kilometer My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway running through Vinh Long and Dong Thap provinces is expected to open to traffic by the end of this year. In its first phase, the VND4.8 trillion ($196.9 million) expressway will have four lanes and allow vehicles to run at 80 kilometers per hour.

The region’s road network has improved significantly in recent years, with 187 kilometers of expressways, 2,669 kilometers of national highways, and 4,559 kilometers of provincial roads. All major areas in the region have road connections, according to the Ministry of Transport's construction investment management department.

Investment wave

Vinh Long province is expected to benefit most from the HCMC-Can Tho Expressway. Chairman Lu Quang Ngoi said the province plans to build two industrial parks with a total area of over 800 hectares on this route. Construction of the IPs will start at the end of this year.

At the end of 2022, SLP Vietnam, a leading industrial and logistic infrastructure developer in Southeast Asia, kicked off construction of a 29,000-square meter warehouse called SLP Park Binh Minh in Vinh Long province.

The company said it was looking to tap the region’s logistics potential.

Tran Van Lau, Chairman of Soc Trang province, said that the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway, when operational, would connect local economic centers, international border gates and the Tran De deep seaport.

“This is a lever to create strong breakthroughs in the socio-economic development of Soc Trang province in particular and the Mekong Delta region in general,” he said.

To welcome more investors, from now until 2030, Soc Trang will establish three new industrial parks and expand one other in locations with convenient traffic connections, especially areas with expressways passing through to serve the production and business investment needs of businesses and investors, he added.

While the An Nghiep Industrial Park will be expanded to an area of 169 hectares, the three new ones to be built are: the 121-hectare Song Hau Industrial Park - Subdivision 1 in Ke Sach district; the Dai Ngai Industrial Park covering 196 hectares in Long Phu district; and the 217-hectare My Thanh Industrial Park in Vinh Chau town.

If conditions allow, the province aims to expand yet another facility and build an additional five IPs, Lau said.