Breakthrough in transport infrastructure – driving force for sustainable development

On August 28, the 55.34 km long Vung Ang - Bung expressway with a total investment of 12,548 billion VND, connecting Ha Tinh province with Quang Tri province, was put into operation. Thus, up to this point, 4 components of the North - South expressway in the East through Ha Tinh with a length of 107.28 km have officially been opened to traffic.

The operation of the expressway not only contributes to reducing traffic pressure on national highways but also synchronously connects economic and political centers and key economic zones along the entire route, creating momentum for economic growth and sustainable development for Ha Tinh and other provinces and cities across the country.

Among the 4 component projects of the North-South Expressway in the East passing through the area, Ha Tinh has made its mark by always being in the "top" in terms of implementing site clearance (GPMB) and meeting the source of construction materials (VLXD). Right from the project's implementation, Ha Tinh has mobilized the entire political system to participate, propagated people's consensus, actively removed difficulties and obstacles regarding GPMB and VLXD to facilitate the investor and contractor's construction.

At the meetings of the Government and the Ministry of Construction (formerly the Ministry of Transport) on the implementation of key national transport infrastructure projects, Ha Tinh received praise and high appreciation from the Government, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Construction and relevant ministries and branches for site clearance and meeting the source of construction materials for construction works.

In addition to the North-South Expressway, during the 2020-2025 term, Ha Tinh also focused on implementing key transport projects and works. For example, the Cua Hoi bridge project across the Lam River, connecting Nghi Hai ward, old Cua Lo town, now Cua Lo ward, Nghe An province with Dan Truong commune, old Nghi Xuan district, now Dan Hai commune, Ha Tinh province.

Cua Hoi Bridge is 5.271 km long, of which the bridge section is 1.728 km long with the main span width of 18.5 m and the approach bridge of 16 m. The total investment of the project is 950 billion VND, of which the central budget is 450 billion VND, the local budget is 500 billion VND (Nghe An and Ha Tinh each province 250 billion VND).

In March 2021, Cua Hoi Bridge was officially inaugurated and put into operation. The highlight of Cua Hoi Bridge is the main span using Extradosed balanced cantilever cable-stayed structure - a modern bridge construction technology in Vietnam today.

Cua Hoi Bridge was put into operation, contributing to the completion of the coastal road through Nghe An and Ha Tinh, improving the traffic system between the two banks of Lam River, gradually completing the traffic infrastructure system in the North Central region, creating conditions to promote socio-economic development, ensuring national security and defense in the region.

The investment project to build and upgrade National Highway 8, section Km37 - Km85+300, with a total investment of more than 1,660 billion VND, is also a key road traffic project being implemented in Ha Tinh. National Highway 8 is the only traffic route up and down Cau Treo International Border Gate, trading with Laos.

After many years of construction, despite the impact of many factors, including harsh weather conditions and difficult construction terrain, the project to upgrade and repair National Highway 8 connecting to Cau Treo International Border Gate has been basically completed.

The investment in upgrading helps reduce the fear of landslides for traffic participants when traveling on National Highway 8, especially during the rainy season.

During the 2020 - 2025 term, Ha Tinh is focusing on synchronously developing transport infrastructure to create a breakthrough in socio-economic development. The coastal route Xuan Hoi - Thach Khe - Vung Ang (called Ha Tinh coastal road) is 120 km long, starting from Cua Hoi bridge to the intersection with National Highway 12C at Vung Ang port.

The Ha Tinh coastal route is implemented according to the detailed planning of Vietnam's coastal roads approved by the Prime Minister. Ha Tinh is one of the localities that started the investment early and after many years, despite some difficulties, the entire route has now been completed.

The route was invested in construction in 2 phases with a total investment of more than 2,000 billion VND from the central budget and part of Ha Tinh's budget; designed according to the standards of a grade 3 plain road, with a maximum speed of 80 km/h.

In addition to the winding sections with high mountains on one side and the sea with clear blue water on the other, the Ha Tinh coastal route also has a "highlight": Cua Nhuong bridge connecting Cam Nhuong commune, now Thien Cam commune, and Cam Linh, now Cam Trung commune. The bridge is 1,300 m long, with 31 spans and a surface width of 14 m. This was the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the North Central region at the time of construction.

Along with road traffic infrastructure, in recent years, Ha Tinh has focused on investing and developing sea traffic infrastructure with many projects being implemented simultaneously. And Terminal No. 3 of Lao-Viet International Port in Vung Ang Economic Zone is the clearest proof.

The project of Terminal No. 3 - Lao - Viet International Port is invested by Lao - Viet International Port Joint Stock Company with a total investment of more than 1,000 billion VND. The terminal is 225m long, capable of receiving general cargo ships with a capacity of up to 45,000 DWT, and has an operating capacity of up to 2.15 million tons of cargo per year.

Terminal No. 3 - Laos - Vietnam International Port will be put into operation from the end of April 2025, contributing to improving cargo handling capacity, meeting the increasing demand for cargo circulation. At the same time, increasing the attractiveness index in attracting investment in the region, increasingly serving import-export and trade activities with Laos and the Northeast region of Thailand; creating favorable conditions for the Lao Government to import and export goods through Vietnamese seaports.

Along with the traffic projects that have been put into operation, at this time, Ha Tinh is also implementing many other key traffic infrastructure projects. Among the projects, we can mention the Xo Viet Nghe Tinh road project extending to the East, 6.6 km long, with a total investment of nearly 1,500 billion VND, starting at the intersection with Nguyen Cong Tru street, Thanh Sen ward and ending at the intersection with National Highway 15B in Thach Lac commune, Ha Tinh province.

Or the Eastern belt road project of Ha Tinh city (old) is 15.778 km long, starting at the intersection with Quang Trung street near Ho Do bridge and ending at the intersection with National Highway 1 at Phu bridge with a total investment of 950 billion VND.

This is a strategic infrastructure project aimed at expanding urban space, effectively exploiting suburban land funds and creating momentum for socio-economic development for Ha Tinh in the future.

In particular, Ha Tinh also started site clearance work for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis - a national key project with a total investment of VND1,713,548 billion.

The high-speed railway project on the North-South axis passes through 18 communes and 5 new wards of the province with a total length of about 103.42 km. According to preliminary statistics, Ha Tinh plans to reclaim more than 760 hectares of land of all kinds, affecting nearly 1,800 households, of which about 1,300 households are expected to be resettled and many graves, infrastructure, and other technical works will be relocated. Localities have proposed to build 36 resettlement areas with a total area of about more than 80 hectares, with an estimated cost of about 900 billion VND.

At this time, localities in Ha Tinh are urgently carrying out land clearance and resettlement area construction steps, ensuring the project is deployed on schedule.