Looking back at 2025, despite severe floods and heavy rains, the whole country completed more than 1,000km of expressways, bringing the total length of expressways nationwide to over 3,500km, far exceeding the target of 3,000km.
According to Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh, on this December 19th, the whole country completed and opened to traffic 3,513km of expressways (including 3,188km of main routes and 325km of access roads), and it is expected that by the end of this year, 3,813km will be completed (including 3,345km of main routes and 458km of access roads).
It's worth remembering that more than a year ago, when Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh launched the "500-day emulation campaign to complete 3,000km of expressways by the end of 2025," many transportation and construction experts commented that this goal was truly a "leap forward" in transportation infrastructure, but also extremely challenging.
In early 2010, the country had just over 40km of its first expressway after the inauguration of the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong project. According to Pham Huu Son, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Transport Design and Consulting Corporation (TEDI), if we consider the 3,000km of expressways as a milestone of success today, then the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway project is the starting point. This project, with a scale of 4 lanes and a length of 41km, commenced construction in December 2004 and was fully opened to traffic in February 2010, opening a gateway route and meeting the travel needs of a very large volume of vehicles from the Mekong Delta to Ho Chi Minh City.
All comparisons are flawed, but the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong project needed 5 years to complete 40km, while now, after more than a year, the units have completed over 1,000km - a figure that was previously truly unimaginable, showing that the construction industry has made a huge leap forward.
According to Le Quyet Tien, Director of the Department of Economic and Investment Management in Construction (Ministry of Construction), the period from 2020 to 2025 is the fastest and strongest period of development for Vietnam's expressway system, marking a historical breakthrough in terms of investment scale, construction speed, operational length, and investment efficiency. In five years, the total length of expressways nationwide has more than tripled, projected to reach nearly 3,350 km (main routes) by the end of 2025. The construction speed during the 2021-2025 period is approximately 400 km/year, more than four times faster than the previous period, the fastest in the history of Vietnam's transport and construction industry.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Chung, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Road Transport Infrastructure Investors (VARSI), reality has proven that every completed and operational expressway "turns time into money." For example, Quang Ninh province, thanks to strong infrastructure development and synchronized transportation connections, has become an attractive destination for investment, trade, and tourism. Through innovative approaches and the mobilization of social resources, the province has completed three expressways: Hai Phong-Ha Long, Ha Long-Van Don, and Van Don-Mong Cai, along with several other transportation infrastructure projects such as Van Don International Airport and Ha Long International Cruise Port, creating a new face for the province's transportation infrastructure towards a modern, efficient, and safe direction, connecting more quickly with the region and internationally.
“Expressways have clearly demonstrated their role in connecting, shortening travel time, and closely linking economic zones… When the expressway system is formed and connected, it also helps reduce investment costs for other infrastructure, minimizes incidents and traffic accidents on national and provincial roads adjacent to the expressways. With these enormous benefits, completing the entire North-South expressway system in the near future is of immense significance,” shared Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Chung.
In addition to exceeding the target of 3,000km of expressways by the end of 2025 as directed by the Prime Minister, the construction sector has also invested in and put into operation two international gateway ports, Lach Huyen and Cai Mep, capable of receiving the world's largest container ships; commenced and completed phase I of Long Thanh International Airport; promptly supplemented and adjusted airport planning to attract investment, especially Gia Binh International Airport, which will be invested in immediately in 2025; and approved investment policies for important national railway projects,...
To realize the goal of having 5,000km of expressways nationwide by 2030, the Ministry of Construction and local authorities have been investing in dozens of expressway projects with a total length of over 2,000km; including many large-scale projects such as: Ben Luc-Long Thanh, Ring Road 4 of the Capital Region, Ring Road 3 of Ho Chi Minh City,... With the implementation progress according to plan, the goal of having approximately 5,000km of expressways nationwide by 2030 is entirely "within reach".
In addition to effectively utilizing the existing infrastructure system, the construction sector continues to implement high-speed railway investment projects on the north-south axis. For the period 2026-2030, the Ministry of Construction identifies the development of a synchronous, modern, and smart infrastructure system; focusing central resources on strategic infrastructure; and fundamentally establishing the national infrastructure framework... as key and crucial tasks.
To accomplish the above key tasks and contribute to the implementation of the three strategic breakthroughs, the Ministry of Construction will focus on researching and creating breakthrough mechanisms and policies to effectively mobilize and utilize domestic and foreign resources, as well as resources from the private sector; and strongly decentralize and delegate authority to localities in managing and exploiting infrastructure. At the same time, it will prioritize resources for key, large-scale projects with a ripple effect; and finalize national sectoral plans and specialized technical plans, ensuring overall efficiency and harmony across all sectors.
Alongside this, the focus is on developing highly skilled human resources, particularly in the fields of high-speed rail and urban rail; developing smart cities and smart transportation, coupled with green energy and low-emission vehicles.
Besides significant economic benefits, infrastructure projects also bring considerable social advantages. Many rural workers have stable jobs; new urban areas and industrial zones are formed, making important contributions to increasing budget revenue, improving the quality of services and people's lives.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has repeatedly emphasized that investing in infrastructure is not simply for the present, but for the long-term future. Every highway, bridge, airport, or port completed today will open up tremendous and sustainable development opportunities for many generations to come.
Updated December 18, 2025
Source: https://laichau.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/chuyen-de/tin-trong-nuoc/buoc-dot-pha-phat-trien-ket-cau-ha-tang.html
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