Countdown 40 days to the opening of two key expressway projects in the North

Minister Tran Hong Minh listened to the leader of Deo Ca Group report on the progress of two expressway projects: Dong Dang - Tra Linh and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang.

Construction of the two expressway projects, Dong Dang - Tra Linh and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang, started in January 2024 and April 2024 respectively, according to the original plan to be completed in 2026.

Following the Prime Minister's direction on accelerating progress to meet the target of 3,000 km of expressway from Cao Bang to Ca Mau , there is now only more than 1 month left to reach the milestone of opening the two projects by the end of 2025. Investors and contractors are rushing to complete the critical road items.

Quality must go hand in hand with progress

This year's rainy season, in the two provinces of Lang Son and Cao Bang, floods and landslides occurred due to the impact of a series of storms. According to data from the hydrometeorological station of Lang Son province from May to October 2025, the average number of rainy days is 20 - 22 days/month.

At the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway Project, contractors are implementing 143 construction teams, with 2,820 personnel and 1,240 pieces of equipment; output reached 3,376/6,580 billion VND (equivalent to 51.3% of the contract value).

Adding a rest stop to this project is becoming urgent, but the current legal framework on roads and PPP investment does not have specific regulations allowing the addition of a rest stop to the ongoing PPP project.

Meanwhile, the Dong Dang - Tra Linh Expressway Project is identified as a "key of key" project due to the large amount of work, complex geology and heavy impact of recent floods.

Due to the impact of natural disasters and difficult terrain, some bridge items at Km28, Km52, Km69 and Km79 were zoned as progress critical. The project management board has increased personnel and machinery, opened additional construction areas and rebuilt service roads to catch up with the progress after the floods.

Currently, contractors are deploying 276 construction teams, with 3,332 personnel and 1,500 pieces of equipment; output reaches 4,988/11,396 billion VND (equivalent to 44% of contract value).

There are still about 7 households that have not been relocated along the entire route ( Lang Son : 5 households, Cao Bang: 2 households). The area of land that has not been handed over is 0.65 hectares in Lang Son. The province has only paid 60 - 80% of the compensation value, so there are still cases of people going to the highway to obstruct construction.

Despite difficulties with rain, floods and ground clearance, investors and contractors are still determined to open the route before December 19. Specifically, the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Project aims to open 54 km of main route, including 25 km of asphalt concrete, 15 km of crushed stone and 14 km of road on the ground.

The Dong Dang - Tra Linh Expressway project aims to open 70 km of the main route (30 km of asphalt concrete, 40 km of crushed stone), and some large bridges crossing rivers, landslide slopes and bridges encountering karst caves. Before Lunar New Year, the entire route will be open on asphalt concrete and crushed stone, except for some special bridges.

According to the general contractor's representative, the two projects have been shortened by nearly a year compared to the original plan to meet the Government's progress requirements.

Although contractors have calculated resources to mobilize workers and machines to work in rotation to ensure continuous construction activities even when the weather is favorable. However, many items still need waiting time to meet quality standards.

A section of Huu Nghi - Chi Lang highway has completed the roadbed and foundation.

“Honor and political duty”

Through on-site inspection, Minister Tran Hong Minh assessed that the current construction force is fully capable of meeting the schedule. He requested to concentrate human resources and equipment, and work day and night, making the most of the dry weather.

“These two projects are both an honor and a political task assigned by the Party and State to all parties to ensure the goal of opening the route from Cao Bang to Ca Mau,” the Minister emphasized.

He also requested to ensure quality and labor safety, and expected the joint venture of investors and contractors to promote their capacity and reputation to complete the vital highway for the Northeast region.

For particularly difficult or force majeure segments, the Minister requests specific statistics and reports to have appropriate solutions.

On this occasion, the Minister agreed with the proposal to reward 3 engineers of the Dong Dang - Tra Linh Project who died in the recent floods and sent condolences to the families of the victims.

Reporting at the scene, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang - Chairman of Deo Ca Group said that natural disasters, site clearance and slow compensation payments are seriously hindering the construction progress. The investor requested the Ministry of Construction to consider the responsibility of individuals and groups that are slowing down the progress.

Recently, the Prime Minister has asked the military and local contractors to participate in support, but according to Mr. Ho Minh Hoang, the mobilization needs to be carefully calculated to ensure compliance with contracts and laws.

Local businesses are also being mobilized, but most of them are small-scale, inexperienced, lack capacity profiles and labor insurance, leading to many cases of prosecution after work accidents. The Northeast region is also prone to flash floods, further increasing the risk.

Minister Tran Hong Minh agreed with the investor's opinion and requested the two provinces to urgently complete site clearance and compensation payments before November 17, 2025; after this deadline, a report will be submitted to the Prime Minister.

According to Mr. Ho Minh Hoang, the biggest goal is to open the entire route so that people can soon enjoy the project, hoping to be able to serve some sections of the route by the upcoming Lunar New Year. The investor hopes that the local government will continue to coordinate closely to keep up with the progress.

Regarding the rest stop at the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway Project, he emphasized that according to legal regulations, the rest stop must be within the project area to be exploited. The investor requested the locality to temporarily hand over the site to have a basis for construction.

Minister Tran Hong Minh directed the People's Committee of Lang Son to coordinate with the project enterprise to unify the policy, speed up legal procedures, and make a record of temporary handover of the site to deploy the rest stop according to the general schedule.

The Minister affirmed that the two expressways Dong Dang - Tra Linh and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang not only have the meaning of connecting traffic, but also connect trust and development aspirations.

"With only 40 days left until the route is opened, the leaders of the Ministry of Construction believe that the construction forces will continue to strive to overcome difficulties and join hands for the development of the country's traffic," the Commander of the Construction Industry emphasized.

On May 7, 2025, the People's Committee of Lang Son province held a meeting with investors, contractors and Military Region 1 on the deployment of forces to participate in the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway Project. In Document No. 1300/QK-TM dated May 15, 2025 sent to the People's Committee of Lang Son province on the possibility of sending forces and vehicles to participate in the construction of the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway Project, Military Region 1 said that it could only mobilize 16 personnel and 9 vehicles. In addition, enterprises and contractors under the Ministry of National Defense are also focusing resources on other key projects, so they do not have resources to participate in the construction of the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway Project.