New instructions on the plan to expand the North-South expressway in the East

The upgrading and expansion of 18 sections of the North-South Expressway in the East from 4 limited lanes to the planned scale of 6 to 8 basic lanes has been agreed to be implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

A section of the North-South Expressway in the East of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon Component Project is about to be put into operation.

Finalize PPP investment

The investment plan to expand the Eastern North-South Expressway has just received important guidance, if following the latest instructions of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha. Accordingly, in Notice No. 391/TB-VPCP dated July 31, 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister assessed that the investment plan to expand the Eastern North-South Expressway sections of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction is basically consistent (divided into 2 investment projects under the PPP method), but there are still differences in the investment phase plan.

At the same time, there are different opinions on the implementation of legal regulations in the case of investment expansion under the PPP method with North-South expressway component projects implemented with public investment capital.

The Deputy Prime Minister agreed with the Ministry of Construction’s proposal to expand the entire North-South Expressway in the East. The Ministry of Construction will work with investors of three component projects that have been implemented under the PPP method to study the expansion investment plan. For 15 public investment component projects, the Ministry of Construction will preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to carry out investment preparation work under the PPP method.

“The Ministry of Construction is assigned to prepare a report to the Prime Minister before August 4, 2025 on the expansion investment plan, clarifying the political basis, legal basis, economic basis, practical basis, planning, standards and norms; propose an optimal investment plan, specific mechanisms and policies (if any) for implementation as soon as possible,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

In case of investment divergence, the Ministry of Construction needs to have arguments and clearly state the reasons, along with the proposed plan, there needs to be a specific and feasible implementation plan to ensure the completion of the entire expansion investment in the period 2026 - 2030.

In early July 2025, in Official Dispatch No. 6314/BXD-KHT, the Ministry of Construction proposed Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha to assign the Ministry of Construction to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to carry out investment preparation work under the PPP form in 2025.

After completing all component projects on the Eastern North-South Expressway, toll collection will be implemented on public investment sections according to the Resolution of the National Assembly and regulations of the Road Law (expected from January 2026). At the same time, during the toll collection process, the Ministry of Construction will select PPP investors according to regulations, in which priority will be given to investment according to the O&M plan combined with BOT on the entire route to synchronize and promote the efficiency of the entire route.

Previously, the Ministry of Construction reported to the Government leaders the plan to expand 18 component projects of the North-South Eastern Expressway under the Investment Project to build some sections of the North-South Eastern Expressway in the 2017-2020 period and the Investment Project to build the North-South Eastern Expressway in the 2021-2025 period.

Specifically, with 15 public investment component projects, the Ministry of Construction proposed to allow toll collection on routes according to the Resolution of the National Assembly and the Road Law; the toll collection process, based on the actual situation, will implement investment to expand routes in the form of PPP.

For the 3 component projects currently in operation, the Ministry of Construction will continue to work with the operating investors to study expansion investment plans (adjust the signed contract term, arrange state budget support if necessary).

Selection principles

Implementing the direction of the Government leaders, on July 29, the Ministry of Finance issued Official Dispatch No. 11543/BTC-PTHT to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on studying investment in expanding the North-South expressway in the East under the PPP method. The most important highlight in this dispatch is that the Ministry of Finance identified 6 principles and criteria for selecting investment options to expand the North-South expressway in the East.

That is, comply with the National Assembly's Resolution on developing a plan and organizing the recovery of project investment capital to repay the central budget; strictly comply with the roadmap and scale of expanding expressway sections in accordance with the overall planning approved by the Prime Minister; form of investment PPP or concession combined with upgrading and expansion, not implementing public investment; divide investment into phases to expand each section when ensuring factors of operating traffic, investment status and feasibility of financial plan; expansion investment progress in accordance with the completion progress, warranty period of the project being invested, avoiding waste and public opinion; assess the interest of investors based on the financial plan and investor capacity of each specific section.

The North-South Eastern Expressway (CT.01) starts at Huu Nghi border gate, Lang Son province; ends at Ca Mau city; total length 2,063 km (accounting for 22% of the total length of the expressway network); planned with a scale of 6-12 lanes. Up to now, the entire route has put into operation 1,443 km, under construction 597 km (by the end of 2025, expected to complete 554 km, remaining 43 km); the scale is mainly 4 limited lanes; some sections are being researched and implemented on a complete scale.

According to Mr. Tran Chung, Chairman of the Association of Road Construction Investors (VARSI), it is necessary for the Ministry of Finance to set out criteria and principles for selecting investment options to expand the North-South Expressway, avoiding scattered investment that does not ensure investment efficiency, including implementation using capital from private investors under the PPP method, BOT contract type.

Based on the 6 criteria and principles mentioned above, the Ministry of Finance proposed 2 investment options to expand 18 sections of the North-South Expressway in the East. With option 1, the Ministry of Finance proposed to invest only in sections of the North-South Expressway in the East that have high demand, can be invested immediately under the PPP form and divided into 2 projects.

Specifically, Project 1 includes 3 sections (Mai Son - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, Nghi Son - Dien Chau) with a toll collection period of about 12 years, invested in the period 2026 - 2028; Project 2 includes 2 sections (Phan Thiet - Dau Giay, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet) with a toll collection period of about 15 years; invested in the period 2026 - 2028.

For the remaining 13 sections, the Ministry of Finance proposed that the Government assign the Ministry of Construction to negotiate with investors for 3 PPP investment sections to invest in expansion (increase toll collection time), in which priority is given to the Dien Chau - Bai Vot section which has high demand and needs to be invested in expansion soon; for the remaining 10 sections, toll collection will be organized to recover state budget capital according to the National Assembly's request, the expansion investment will be considered later, based on actual needs.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the advantage of option 1 is that it is possible to immediately implement 5 sections with good traffic volume, which many investors are interested in; at the same time, collect fees to recover state budget capital for 10 public investment sections as required by the National Assembly. However, the disadvantage of option 1 is that after completing the PPP investment of 5 expressway sections with good traffic volume, mobilizing capital to invest in the remaining 10 sections will be difficult.

With option 2, the Ministry of Finance also proposed dividing the 18 sections of the North-South Expressway in the East into 2 projects (with investment phases) focusing on the North and South ends, thereby maximizing the expansion of connecting sections to the Central region.

Specifically, Project 1 will include 8 sections (Mai Son - National Highway 45 National Highway 45 - Nghi Son Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot, Bai Vot - Ham Nghi, Ham Nghi - Vung Ang, Vung Ang - Bung, Bung - Van Ninh), implementing investment phases in advance for 4 sections with good traffic volume for investment in the period 2026 - 2028, namely Mai Son - National Highway 45 National Highway 45 - Nghi Son Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot. These are sections that have been completed since 2023, have good traffic volume, and can attract investors immediately.

For the following 4 investment sections (Bai Vot - Ham Nghi, Ham Nghi - Vung Ang, Vung Ang - Bung, Bung - Van Ninh), during the warranty period, toll collection will be carried out to recover the state budget capital according to the National Assembly's request. After completing the investment of 4 sections of phase I, the 4 sections of phase II will be invested. At that time, the investor will have organized toll collection, so there may be capital to continue investing in the above expressway sections.

Project 2 includes 6 sections of the North-South expressway in the East in the South Central and Southeast regions, namely Chi Thanh - Van Phong, Van Phong - Nha Trang, Nha Trang - Cam Lam, Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, Phan Thiet - Dau Giay.

Similar to Project 1, the Ministry of Finance also proposed to divide investment into 4 sections with good traffic volume for immediate investment in the 2026 - 2028 period, including Nha Trang - Cam Lam, Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, Phan Thiet - Dau Giay.

For the next two investment sections, Chi Thanh - Van Phong, Van Phong - Nha Trang, while waiting for warranty, toll collection will be carried out to recover the state budget capital according to the National Assembly's request. After completing the investment of 4 sections of phase I, the next investment will be 2 sections of phase II.

For the remaining 4 sections (Van Ninh - Cam Lo, Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon, Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon, Quy Nhon - Chi Thanh), the Ministry of Finance assessed that the traffic volume is low and it is difficult to attract PPP investors, so it will organize toll collection to recover state budget capital immediately according to the request of the National Assembly.

The investment in expanding these sections is still in accordance with the approved planning roadmap, but will be specifically considered after the end of the project warranty period based on actual needs. In case investors are not attracted, it is possible to propose considering the participation of part of the state capital to increase the attractiveness to attract private investors.

The Ministry of Finance believes that the advantage of option 2 is that it can take advantage of sections with good traffic to attract more investment for adjacent sections with low attractiveness and relatively good traffic; at the same time, it creates motivation to negotiate and immediately expand the 3 sections that are currently investing in PPP.

“On the other hand, dividing the project into two large-scale projects will make it difficult to find potential investors who can guarantee financial conditions. In this case, it is possible to study the separation of the three PPP projects into independent projects to negotiate expansion according to actual exploitation,” said a representative of the Ministry of Finance.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/chi-dan-moi-voi-phuong-an-mo-rong-cao-toc-bac---nam-phia-dong-d347467.html