Urgent need to expand Ho Chi Minh City expressways.

According to the Vietnam Expressway Development Corporation (VEC), in 2024, the management, operation, and maintenance of VEC's expressways continued to ensure smooth and safe traffic flow; the electronic toll collection (ETC) system operated stably and efficiently.

In 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway welcomed 23.2 million vehicles. Photo: Ngoc Han

Traffic volume on expressways, including Noi Bai – Lao Cai, Cau Gie – Ninh Binh, Da Nang – Quang Ngai, and Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay, reached over 67.4 million vehicles, an increase of 11.6% compared to 2023.

With 23.2 million vehicles, the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway continues to have the highest traffic volume among VEC's routes, with a growth of 12.4%.

Meanwhile, the Da Nang – Quang Ngai expressway also maintained the highest growth rate, increasing by 15.5% compared to the previous year, but had the lowest traffic volume, at only 2.7 million vehicles.

The other two routes, the Cau Gie – Ninh Binh route, safely served 22.6 million vehicles, but experienced the lowest growth at 8.3%; the Noi Bai – Lao Cai route reached a traffic volume of 18.9 million vehicles, with a growth of 14.3%.

Ensuring traffic order and safety on expressways has always been a priority for VEC's leadership. The dissemination and education of traffic laws, especially regarding traffic safety on expressways, has been emphasized and intensified. As a result, VEC's expressways have seen a significant reduction in traffic accidents, fatalities, and injuries.

However, VEC stated that traffic congestion still occurs on some expressways during holidays, Tet (Lunar New Year), and weekends due to sudden increases in traffic volume and traffic accidents, such as: the Cau Gie – Ninh Binh route; and the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay route. In particular, the section from Km12+000 – Km 23+000 in the direction from Long Thanh to Ho Chi Minh City and the section from Km4+000 – Km12+000 in the direction from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh frequently experience congestion, even during the morning and afternoon hours, highlighting the urgent need to expand the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh expressway section due to reaching its designed capacity.

To better serve the travel needs of the people and ensure traffic safety on VEC's expressways during the 2025 Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, VEC leaders have directed operating and related units to proactively develop reasonable traffic regulation and diversion plans; guide vehicles to circulate safely and smoothly; publicize hotline numbers, and ensure 24/7 on-call arrangements to readily receive and resolve feedback from citizens and businesses.

Furthermore, in accordance with Government Decree No. 180/2024/ND-CP dated December 31, 2024, which stipulates the policy of reducing value-added tax as per National Assembly Resolution No. 174/2024/QH15, VEC continues to extend the policy of reducing 2% VAT on the service fees for using expressways until June 30, 2025.

Also during the past year, more than 590,000 vehicles still had insufficient funds in their ETC toll collection accounts while traveling on VEC's expressways, despite warnings and widespread public awareness campaigns organized by the Corporation and its operating units. This is one of the reasons leading to traffic congestion and safety hazards when vehicles travel through toll stations at high speeds.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cap-bach-mo-rong-cao-toc-tp-hcm-long-thanh-196250106171850164.htm