The Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway project is once again behind schedule.

Package J3-1 (the remaining work of package J3 for Phuoc Khanh Bridge) is expected to start construction in March 2025 and be completed in June 2026 – Photo: TTD

In October 2024, the Vietnam Expressway Investment and Development Corporation (VEC) submitted a proposal to the Vietnam Road Administration requesting approval of a traffic management plan to temporarily open two sections of the Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway in November 2024.

These are the sections from the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong Expressway interchange (Long An province) to National Highway 1 (Ho Chi Minh City), 3.4km long, and from the Phuoc An interchange to the National Highway 51 interchange ( Dong Nai province), 6.1km long. However, to date, these two sections have not yet been put into operation.

There's a road, but when will it be put into operation?

Responding to Tuoi Tre newspaper's question about why the completed sections have not yet been put into operation as planned, a representative of the Southern Expressway Project Management Board (the project management unit) said that the entire Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway has reached 89% completion.

The 6.1km section from Phuoc An intersection to National Highway 51 intersection (Dong Nai) has been completed but is awaiting approval of the traffic management plan from the competent authorities.

As for the 3.4km section from the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong Expressway interchange ( Long An ) to National Highway 1 (Ho Chi Minh City), although completed, it is still awaiting the completion of approximately 250m of the connecting section of the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project passing through Long An province.

As for the section from the National Highway 1 intersection to the Nguyen Van Tao intersection, it is still planned to be put into operation before April 30, 2025.

In a recent urgent dispatch to Long An province, the Ministry of Transport stated that a site inspection on December 15th revealed that the remaining work on the 250-meter connecting section to the Ben Luc – Long Thanh project, part of package XL3 of the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project passing through Long An province, is not yet complete.

The delay in construction of this section will affect the operational plan for the 3.4km section of the Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway.

“In order to quickly put the western section into operation to gradually complete the entire Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway, and to maximize investment efficiency in accordance with the Prime Minister's directive, we request the Long An Provincial People's Committee to decisively direct the investor and relevant units to accelerate construction progress and complete the 250m section of the branch connecting to the Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway (branch A) before December 31st.”

"The H-branch items, the overpass, and the roads at both ends of the overpass must be completed before March 30, 2025," the Ministry of Transport proposed to the People's Committee of Long An province.

So when will the 250m section be completed? A representative from the Long An Provincial Department of Transport said that the entire 250m section is expected to be completed by January 5th.

According to this source, the bidding package for the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project, specifically the section passing through the locality, was implemented later than the bidding packages for the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project.

Over the past period, contractors have made great efforts, racing against time to complete the contract package as soon as possible, especially the 250m section connecting to the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway.

Some sections of the Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway have been completed, and the investor is proposing to the authorities for approval of a plan to put them into operation early – Photo: CHAU TUAN

The entire route is expected to be completed in September 2026.

Over the past two years, after legal procedural obstacles were removed, most of the construction packages for the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway have accelerated and are nearing completion, with the exception of package J3, the Phuoc Khanh bridge spanning the Long Tau river, connecting Can Gio district in Ho Chi Minh City and Nhon Trach district in Dong Nai province.

The unresolved issues surrounding this bidding package, which have persisted for a long time, are preventing the entire project from being completed by September 30, 2025, as planned.

Package J3 of the Phuoc Khanh bridge project was previously undertaken by a joint venture of Sumitomo Mitsui (Japan) and Cienco 4 (Vietnam).

By 2022, the investor and contractor J3 had terminated the contract, with the project's volume reaching 80.7%.

Because the project is funded by ODA from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), it must comply with regulations regarding the main contractor from Japan. To find a contractor to continue the project, in December 2023, the investor issued an international open tender for package J3-1.

However, after 90 days of inviting bids, no Japanese contractors showed interest or participated in the bidding process.

In the proposal to adjust the investment policy for the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project, the Ministry of Transport stated that after no Japanese contractors participated in the bidding, VEC sought the donor's opinion on relaxing the conditions regarding the valid nationality of contractors so that Vietnamese contractors could participate as main construction contractors and independent contractors.

Negotiations with the Japanese side regarding the tender documents for organizing an international tender, and amending the conditions on the eligibility of bidders, have been lengthy but have not yielded results, significantly impacting the progress of completing package J3-1, while time is running out.

Therefore, VEC proposed using self-mobilized capital instead of ODA funds to complete the remaining work on the Phuoc Khanh bridge.

In order to organize the bidding and implement the construction of package J3-1, the investor needs to carry out the procedure of adjusting the funding source from Japanese ODA loan to using VEC's own capital.

According to the proposal from the Ministry of Transport, after completing the procedures for approving the adjustment of the investment policy and the project adjustment, VEC will start construction of package J3-1 in March 2025 and complete it in September 2026.

How long will we have to wait for the Phuoc Khanh bridge?

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper's investigation, the J3-1 package (the remaining work of the J3 Phuoc Khanh bridge package) was tendered by VEC on July 30th through a nationwide online open bidding process.

The estimated cost of the contract package is VND 683.994 billion, with a contract execution period of 13 months. By August 6, 2024, the investor had opened the bidding process, and domestic contractors had submitted applications.

However, the contract has not yet been awarded because it is awaiting adjustments to the investment plan.

In its report assessing the adjustment of the project's investment policy, the Ministry of Planning and Investment evaluated that the proposal to extend the project implementation period to September 30, 2026, is well-founded and ensures the project's completion on schedule.

The Ministry also noted that time for project implementation is running out and requested the Ministry of Transport to direct VEC to inspect, review, and calculate more clearly the remaining workload, specifically assess any unforeseen situations, the ability to supply materials, and fluctuations in material prices, etc.

At the same time, the Ministry of Transport is responsible for developing a specific implementation plan, determining the completion time to ensure feasibility and effectiveness; avoiding the need to submit proposals to competent authorities for adjustments to the investment policy or extensions of the project implementation time multiple times, which would affect investment efficiency.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cao-toc-ben-luc-long-thanh-lai-tre-hen-20241230233645371.htm