Vietnam to build 360 km of North-South Expressway this year

The government has set a target of completing 650 km of the North-South Expressway, one of the country’s most important infrastructure projects, by 2024, of which 360 km will be done in 2022.

At at a meeting on the eastern session of the North-South Expressway, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh said the phase one of the project is “well underway”. “The site clearance is basically completed, and the source of construction materials meets our demand. The construction to date is 30% compete.

For the second phase, over the past month, the project management board signed the contract on consultant selection, made the feasibility study report, assessed the environmental impact, and developed the policy framework. Four out of 12 localities that the expressway run through have set up steering committees and councils for compensation and resettlement support.

However, Thanh stated that some tasks have not yet met the progress requirements. A huge volume of phase-one work remains undone. “This year, we have to complete 360 km of expressway, but many projects for this aim have seen only 30% of construction work fulfilled. That means the remaining 70% needs to be finished in nine months.”

Meanwhile, for the second phase of the project, eight localities have not yet established a steering committee and council for compensation and support for resettlement.

Thanh noted that he would not allow the overall progress of the North-South Expressway project to lag behind the schedule. “In 2024, 654 km must be completed, of which 360 km must be done in 2022, including sections Mai So-National Highway 45, Cam Lo-La Son, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet, and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay.”

Thanh directed localities to complete the proposed compensation and resettlement support framework before April 8, and complete the environmental impact assessment report before April 18. “The 12 North-South expressway projects in the phase two will be appraised and approved before June 30 and all construction starts before December.”

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam said the North-South Expressway project phase two, including sections Ha Tinh-Quang Tri (267 km), Quang Ngai-Nha Trang (353 km) and Can Tho-Ca Mau (109 km), with a total length of about 729 km, passes through 12 provinces and cities. The total investment is estimated at VND147 trillion ($6.44 billion) in the form of public investment, which is divided into 12 component projects. These projects are scheduled to be basically completed in 2025 and put into operation from 2026.

The North-South Expressway is over 2,000 km in length and runs through dozens of cities and provinces from the north to the south of the country.