Opening of 22km of Ben Luc expressway.

On the afternoon of October 16th, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan worked with the People's Committees of Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, and Long An provinces on several key inter-regional transportation projects.

Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan speaks at the meeting. Photo: My Quynh

Regarding the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan stated that the Vietnam Expressway Investment and Development Corporation (VEC - the project's investor) is making efforts to complete and put each section of the route into operation. According to the plan, by November 2024, a 3.4km section from the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway interchange to the National Highway 1A interchange in Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City, will be temporarily operational.

However, during the on-site inspection, it was found that a section of approximately 250 meters of the expressway connecting the Ben Luc Expressway to the Trung Luong Expressway remains unfinished. This section is under the responsibility of Long An province. Therefore, Deputy Minister Tuan requested Long An province to expedite the progress and complete it soon for temporary operation.

Furthermore, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan requested Ho Chi Minh City to continue researching and accelerating the construction progress of interchanges on the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway (the section from the National Highway 1A interchange to Nguyen Van Tao road, approximately 18.8km long); ensuring that the interchanges connect to the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway safely and efficiently. In particular, the interchange between the expressway and Nguyen Van Tao road must ensure safe connectivity and effective access to the regional seaports.

The Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway section near the interchange with the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway. Photo: My Quynh

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At the meeting, Mr. Pham Hong Quang, General Director of VEC, also emphasized the urgent need to complete the 250m section of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway.

According to Mr. Quang, Long An province plans to complete this section of road by the end of this year; however, this would not be sufficient to connect the two expressways. Therefore, he requested the Long An Provincial Traffic Project Management Board to urge the contractor to accelerate the construction progress and complete the section as soon as possible so that it can be opened to traffic in November 2024.

Regarding the longer-term goal, Mr. Quang stated that VEC aims to open the 18.8km section from the National Highway 1A intersection to the Nguyen Van Tao intersection (Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City) before the Lunar New Year 2025. Thus, combined with the 3.1km section expected to open in November 2024, the entire 22km western section of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway will be open to traffic before the New Year.

"VEC will not collect tolls on the expressway during the temporary operation period until April 30, 2025. From May 1, 2025, the unit will begin collecting tolls," Mr. Quang said.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Lam, Vice Chairman of the Long An Provincial People's Committee, said that the approximately 250-meter-long section connecting the two expressways was only handed over and construction began in early 2024, therefore its progress is not in sync with the Ben Luc expressway. Despite this, Long An province has made great efforts and urged the contractor to accelerate progress to complete this section by November.

The contractor needs to construct four layers of crushed stone, 10cm of asphalt-stabilized crushed stone, 13cm of hot mix asphalt, and complete the road shoulders and lighting system along the route. However, the biggest challenge at this stage is that the asphalt concrete paving will require a lot of testing time, and the rainy weather will also have an impact.

"We will try to complete the unfinished section by the end of November 2024 to ensure synchronized operation with the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway," Mr. Lam said.

At the meeting, Mr. Bui Xuan Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, acknowledged VEC's efforts in completing the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway sections. Mr. Cuong requested the Traffic Management Board and the Department of Transport to closely coordinate with VEC in completing the remaining items, especially at the interchanges between the expressway and National Highway 50, Nguyen Van Tao Street, and Nguyen Huu Tho Street, so that they can be put into operation before Tet 2025, facilitating convenient travel for the people.

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The Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project has a total length of nearly 58km, passing through the provinces of Long An (2.7km), Ho Chi Minh City (26.4km), and Dong Nai (28.7km).

The project has a total investment to date of nearly VND 29,600 billion, using capital sources including ADB loan (VND 8,065.7 billion), JICA loan (VND 10,101.3 billion), counterpart funds from the state budget (VND 3,872.4 billion), and VEC's own arranged capital (VND 7,547.6 billion).

From November 2024, VEC proposed the temporary operation of the 3.4km section from the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway interchange to the National Highway 1A interchange (within Ho Chi Minh City) and the 6.1km section from the Phuoc An interchange to the National Highway 51 interchange in Dong Nai province.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/dua-22km-cao-toc-ben-luc-long-thanh-vao-khai-thac-truc-tet-192241016195507667.htm