Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway is at risk of not meeting the required progress.

According to the Ministry of Construction's report on the implementation of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway project, all four component projects have basically completed land clearance and handed over land for project implementation. The average construction output for the entire project has reached over 45% of the contract value.

Specifically, component project 1 (through An Giang province, 57 km long) has reached 55% completion, component project 2 (through the former Can Tho city, over 37 km long) has reached 41%, component project 3 (through the former Hau Giang province, nearly 37 km long) has reached 46%, and component project 4 (through the former Soc Trang province, over 58 km long) has reached 40%. Compared to the implementation plan, components projects 1 and 3 are basically on schedule, while components projects 2 and 4 are behind schedule by about 5-9%.

To date, the project has been allocated a total annual capital of VND 28,125 billion. It is projected that by the end of August 2025, disbursements will reach VND 20,043 billion (equivalent to 71% of the allocated plan).

Construction of an overpass on the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway.

According to the People's Committee of Can Tho City, the capital allocated for component projects 2, 3, and 4 in the area has reached over 18,800 billion VND, with disbursement exceeding 13,000 billion VND, achieving a rate of nearly 70%. For 2025 alone, the allocated capital to date is nearly 7,300 billion VND, with disbursement reaching nearly 1,600 billion VND, achieving a rate of nearly 22%.

According to the People's Committee of Can Tho City, the allocation of funds from various sources is ensured according to the project's implementation schedule. However, the disbursement rate in the first eight months of 2025 was low, and it is possible that the disbursement will not reach 100% of the planned amount in 2025. Although the investor has tried to find sources of sand for the project, the supply has not yet been sufficient, nor has the exploitation capacity been reached according to the project schedule. The implementation progress is also behind the plan registered by the construction unit.

The Ministry of Construction stated that the project's implementation still faces many difficulties, specifically: Regarding sand for embankment construction, localities have made efforts to expedite the licensing procedures for the exploitation of 26.8 million m3 out of a total demand of 28.9 million m3, basically meeting the reserve requirements for the project. However, although the sand reserves in the area according to the plan are relatively large, the exploitation capacity cannot meet the progress of the projects. Increasing capacity could have an impact on the environment and cause landslides on both sides of the river.

The difficulties and obstacles regarding sand for embankment construction stem from objective reasons, due to the simultaneous implementation of numerous key projects in the region, particularly those requiring completion by 2025. Subjective reasons include the fact that surveys of construction material sources have only assessed reserves, not actual extraction capacity according to project schedules; and the impact of simultaneous implementation of key projects in the region has not been evaluated.

Regarding construction progress, the overall project has basically not met the requirements of the National Assembly (basically completing the entire route in 2026 and completing and putting the entire project into operation in 2027), especially component projects 2 and 4, which are 5-9% behind schedule.

The main reason for the delay is the shortage of sand for embankment construction. Currently, the bridge construction progress is on schedule and is expected to be basically completed in December 2025. However, the critical path of the project is the road construction, with the biggest obstacle being the sand mining capacity, which only reaches an average of 13% of the required level, affecting the volume of embankment construction (which has only reached about 33%).

"If sand extraction capacity is not increased, combined with adjustments to technical solutions such as replacing wick drains with cement-reinforced soil pillars or a combination of wick drains and vacuum pumping to shorten the loading time, the road construction progress will be seriously affected, potentially leading to the inability to complete the project as required by the Prime Minister and the National Assembly," the Ministry of Construction stated.

Phase 1 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway construction project commenced on June 17, 2023. The project has a total length of over 188 km, a scale of 4 lanes, and a total investment of 44,691 billion VND.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/cao-toc-chau-doc---can-tho---soc-trang-co-nguy-co-kho-dat-tien-do-theo-yeu-cau-d370335.html