Instructions for expanding Hoa Binh - Moc Chau highway to 4 lanes

Illustration photo.

The Ministry of Construction has just issued Official Dispatch No. 8130/BXD – KHTC to the People's Committee of Son La province regarding investment in expanding the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway, the section in Son La province, from 2 lanes to 4 lanes.

Previously, in Official Dispatch No. 6556/VPCP - CN, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assigned the Ministry of Construction to guide the People's Committee of Son La province on the process and procedures for assigning management agencies for national highways and expressways and assigning owners to implement investment projects in accordance with the provisions of the law on public investment; promptly report to the Prime Minister on legal issues.

In Official Dispatch No. 8130, the Ministry of Construction stated that, implementing Decision No. 216/QD-TTg dated March 2, 2024 on decentralization and assignment of competent authorities to invest in road projects according to Resolution No. 106/2023/QH15 of the National Assembly, the People's Committee of Son La province was decentralized as the competent authority, and was allowed to use local budgets and other legal capital to implement the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Construction Investment Project, the section in Son La province.

On that basis, the People's Council of Son La province approved the investment policy of the Project; the People's Committee of Son La province approved the component projects; the Project started construction from May 18, 2025, expected to be put into operation in 2028.

Implementing the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch No. 16/CD-TTg dated February 21, 2024 on accelerating research and investment in upgrading roads currently in operation and being invested in on a phased scale, the Ministry of Construction has reported to the Prime Minister the overall investment plan to upgrade expressways on a phased scale, including the recommendation that the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau route will be studied for investment and upgraded to a complete scale in the period of 2026 - 2030 when capital sources are balanced.

At the same time, in Resolution No. 140/2024/QH154, the National Assembly requested the Government to direct the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) and relevant agencies to coordinate with localities assigned as managing agencies and competent agencies to develop plans to upgrade and expand projects that have been and are being invested in according to a phased scale (2 lanes, 4 lanes) to ensure that they are suitable for transportation needs in each period and with a long-term vision.

The Ministry of Construction agrees with the opinion of the People's Committee of Son La province on the necessity of investing in expanding the route and has sent a document to the Prime Minister for consideration and priority to balance additional capital from the central budget in the period 2026 - 2030 for the Project.

However, changing the investment scale from 2 lanes to 4 lanes leads to exceeding the public investment capital compared to the content of the Project investment policy, so according to the provisions of Article 37, Clause 5, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment 2024, amended and supplemented by a number of articles in Law No. 90/2025/QH15, the Project must follow the procedures for deciding to adjust the investment policy.

Therefore, the Ministry of Construction requests the People's Committee of Son La province to direct relevant agencies and units to proactively implement the Project to meet the required schedule; at the same time, accurately determine the investment capital needs, clarify the capital sources and capital structure allocated to the Project as a basis for completing investment procedures, and report to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

Regarding the need for additional capital, the Ministry of Construction noted that the People's Committee of Son La province needs to re-evaluate the total investment level of the road expansion project, based on the capital rate in Decision No. 409/QD-BXD dated April 11, 2025 of the Minister of Construction on the announcement of the investment rate for construction works and the total construction price of the structure of the work in 2024 to calculate and re-adjust the need for additional capital accordingly.

After accurately assessing the need for additional capital and determining the capital structure for the road expansion investment project, the Ministry of Construction requested the People's Committee of Son La province to send the Ministry of Finance a proposal for capital allocation for the project to synthesize and report to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

"The People's Committee of Son La province needs to review the design solutions for the route to make the most of the invested works, and facilitate the adjustment to expand to 4 lanes," the Ministry of Construction's dispatch stated.

Previously, the People's Committee of Son La province sent an official dispatch requesting the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction to consider assigning the People's Committee of Son La province to be the competent authority to invest in expanding the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway, the section in Son La province, to a scale of 4 lanes, complete according to the approved planning.

The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance coordinate to pay attention and balance capital from the Central Budget of about 5,000 billion VND to implement investment in expanding the route from a 2-lane highway to a 4-lane highway according to the planning in the period of 2026-2030.

The total investment of the Project (after adjustment) is expected to be 9,938 billion VND, of which the total investment in the ongoing phase is 4,938 billion VND; the total proposed additional investment to expand the scale from 2 lanes to 4 lanes is 5,000 billion VND, mobilized from the Central Budget, with the project implementation period from 2023 to 2028.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/chi-dan-cho-viec-mo-rong-cao-toc-hoa-binh---moc-chau-len-4-lan-xe-d357510.html