Proposal to expand Hanoi-Thai Nguyen expressway under PPP method

A section of Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi route with 2 lanes

According to Phuong Thanh Tranconsin, currently, the road connecting Gia Binh airport (Bac Ninh province) with Hanoi capital is being reported by the Hanoi People's Committee to the Government for investment and construction, including a section that overlaps the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen section, about 8km long (from Ninh Hiep intersection to Ring Road III intersection).

Two options for highway expansion

On that basis, two investment options for expanding the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen expressway section were researched and proposed by this enterprise:

Option 1, the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen section from the Ring Road III intersection to Tan Lap intersection will be expanded to a complete 6-lane scale with a total length of nearly 64km. The preliminary total investment is about 6,790 billion VND (including interest).

With this option, the government does not have to support capital, the investor will mobilize capital to implement and commit to completing the project proposal before August 31, 2025. If selected as the investor to implement the project, the investor commits to completing construction in 2026 and putting it into operation from 2027.

Option 2 proposed by Phuong Thanh Tranconsin is that currently, the Cho Moi - Bac Kan expressway is being invested in construction with a design speed of 80 km/h, a complete scale of 4 lanes, expected to be basically completed in 2026 and put into operation in 2027.

To ensure the synchronization of the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi - Bac Kan expressway, the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen expressway from the Ring Road III intersection to Tan Lap intersection is proposed to be invested with a scale of 6 lanes. The Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi section is proposed to be invested with a complete scale of 4 lanes. The total length of the invested route is about more than 100km.

The preliminary total investment (including interest) is approximately VND 16,800 billion. Of which, the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen section is VND 6,790 billion, the Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi section is more than VND 10,000 billion.

According to the project proposal, the Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi section was constructed in 2014 and put into operation in 2017 with a scale of 2 lanes, a roadbed width of 12m, and an operating speed of 60 - 80 km/h. The intersections on the route are at the same level, allowing all vehicles to circulate. Traffic organization on the route is like a normal national highway, with houses directly connected to the road. This section is being invested in under the BOT form. Because the financial plan is not as expected, the investor is proposing that the state buy back the project.

To ensure the feasibility of option 2, Phuong Thanh Company proposes to divide the project into 2 implementation phases.

Specifically, phase 1, investment in expanding the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen section from the Ring Road 3 intersection to Tan Lap intersection to a scale of 6 complete lanes, construction will be completed in 2026 and put into operation from 2027. Phase 2, investment in expanding the Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi section to a scale of 4 complete lanes, construction will be completed in 2028 and put into operation from 2029.

To meet the resources for implementing the above plan, the investor proposed a state support capital of about 5,360 billion VND (accounting for more than 33% of the total project investment). Of which, phase 1 proposed to support nearly 600 billion VND for site clearance costs (accounting for nearly 9% of the total investment); phase 2 proposed to support site clearance costs and construction costs of about 4,780 billion VND (accounting for about 50% of the total investment).

"The advantage of this option is that the state only needs to spend more than VND5,360 billion (about 54% if implemented by public investment) to have more than 100km of complete 4-6 lane highway. With the remaining capital, the state can focus on investing in essential works and important national projects," Phuong Thanh Tranconsin assessed.

In the spirit of Resolution No. 68 of the Politburo on private economic development and the commitment to mobilize sufficient capital to implement the project, Phuong Thanh Tranconsin requested the Ministry of Construction to allow the preparation of a proposal for a complete investment project for the CT.07 expressway section from Hanoi to Thai Nguyen with a scale of 4-6 lanes completed under the PPP method.

Previously, based on the proposal of the enterprise, on May 13, 2025, the Government Office issued Document No. 4108 conveying the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requesting the Ministry of Construction to preside over the review and report to the Prime Minister.

Motivating local development

It is known that in the proposal document No. 788 dated March 10, 2025 reporting to the Government and the Ministry of Construction, Phuong Thanh Transport Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company said that the CT.07 expressway section Hanoi - Thai Nguyen includes 2 segments:

Section 1 from Ninh Hiep intersection (intersection with the new National Highway 1A to the north of Phu Dong bridge) to Tan Lap intersection was invested from ODA loans of the Japanese Government and counterpart funds of the Vietnamese Government. Section 2 from Tan Lap intersection to Tan Long intersection was invested from government bond funds; the project was completed and put into operation in 2014.

The expressway has a total length of nearly 71km, passing through 3 provinces and cities: Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen. The scale of the Hanoi (Km0+00) - Soc Son (Km25+680) section is a class A expressway, with 4 complete lanes and a design speed of 100km/h.

Soc Son (Km25+680) - Thai Nguyen (Km61+250) section is a type A highway, the design speed of phase 1 is 80km/h, the cross-section of 2 complete expressway lanes, the painted line position is adjusted to 4 lanes according to car road standards with 2 emergency lanes.

Section Km61+250 - Km62+410 is a class A highway, the design speed in phase 1 is 80km/h.

Tan Lap (Km62+410) - Tan Long (Km70+600) section is a complete 4-lane highway, designed speed 100km/h.

According to Decision No. 1454 of the Prime Minister on approving the Road Network Development Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, the CT.07 Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Bac Kan - Cao Bang expressway has a scale of 4 - 6 complete lanes. Of which, the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen section has a scale of 6 lanes and the investment time is before 2030.

Thus, currently, the CT.07 expressway section from Hanoi to Thai Nguyen is not large enough according to the planning. Particularly, the Soc Son (Km25+680) - Thai Nguyen (Km61+250) section has not reached the scale of a complete 4-lane expressway.

The planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, determines that Thai Nguyen province will become one of the industrial centers developing in a modern direction associated with sustainable development; developing and expanding 11 industrial parks and 1 concentrated information technology park; developing 41 industrial clusters. Thai Nguyen also focuses on developing tourism based on its strengths in resort and ecological tourism associated with history, culture, spirituality, and tourist areas. Therefore, investing in building the CT.07 expressway section from Hanoi to Thai Nguyen into a complete expressway is extremely necessary.

Phan Trang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/de-xuat-mo-rong-cao-toc-ha-noi-thai-nguyen-theo-phuong-thuc-ppp-102250522133109201.htm