Two sections of the Eastern North-South Expressway, currently with two lanes, are in priority group 1 for the urgent completion of investment procedures for upgrading and expanding them to four standard lanes using public investment funds.
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| North-South Expressway (Eastern section), Cam Lo - La Son section |
The "bottleneck" section
“We have just completed the explanation and finalized the pre-feasibility study report for the Eastern North-South Expressway Expansion Project, La Son - Hoa Lien section, to submit to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and forward it to the Standing Agency of the State Appraisal Council, which is the Ministry of Planning and Investment, for appraisal according to the plan,” said Mr. Nguyen Vu Quy, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board.
Reportedly, immediately after receiving Official Letter No. 1264/BKHĐT-PTHTĐT dated February 22, 2024, from the Ministry of Planning and Investment regarding the explanation of the pre-feasibility study report for the North-South Expressway Expansion Project (Eastern section, La Son - Hoa Lien), the Ministry of Transport issued an urgent directive instructing the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board to promptly clarify the requested contents. “For nearly a week, the Project Management Board has mobilized all its professional staff and project consultants to work tirelessly, even on holidays, to provide the explanation on schedule as requested by the Ministry of Transport,” Mr. Quy stated.
The North-South Expressway Eastern Expansion Project, specifically the La Son - Hoa Lien section, is one of only two segments on the trans-Vietnam expressway currently only having two lanes. Both sections coincide with the Ho Chi Minh Highway.
Previously, at the end of December 2023, the Ministry of Transport submitted Proposal No. 14605/TTr-BGTVT to the Prime Minister requesting approval of the pre-feasibility study report for the project to expand the North-South Expressway (Eastern section), La Son - Hoa Lien section, with a total investment of approximately 3,011 billion VND. According to the Ministry of Transport's proposal, the project will upgrade 66 km of the existing 2-lane road to a complete 4-lane road with a roadbed width of 22 m and a road surface width of 20.5 m.
The project is expected to be funded from the central government budget for the period 2021-2025, including VND 1.173 billion from the medium-term public investment capital for the period 2021-2025 already allocated for investment preparation, and an estimated VND 3.009827 billion from increased central government revenue in 2022 as announced in Document No. 1303/TTg-KTTH dated December 6, 2023, of the Prime Minister.
"Due to the importance of the project, the Ministry of Transport will immediately implement the procedures as prescribed to start construction soon. The goal is to complete investment preparation work from 2023 to 2024; and to commence construction from 2024 to 2025," a leader of the Ministry of Transport informed.
Another component project of the North-South Expressway in the East, which was initially planned for a 2-lane road, has also been assigned by the Ministry of Transport to the Ho Chi Minh City Project Management Board for revision and expansion to a 4-lane road, specifically the Cam Lo - La Son section.
According to preliminary calculations, the investment capital to upgrade and expand the 98 km section of the North-South Expressway (Eastern route), specifically the Cam Lo - La Son section, from a standard 2-lane to a standard 4-lane road with a continuous emergency stopping lane, is approximately 6,500 billion VND. This plan was first developed in 2020, but still needs to be updated to reflect the current situation before being submitted to the competent authorities for approval.
Besides the fact that most of the eastern section of the North-South Expressway, specifically the Cam Lo - La Son - Hoa Lien section, has already undergone land compensation and clearance for a 4-lane road, a major advantage that could shorten the upgrade time for this "bottleneck" section, which poses a potential traffic safety risk, is that the entire roadbed has been basically completed to a 4-lane scale with a roadbed width of 22 meters.
"The construction units only need to carry out the technical work to meet the project's technical requirements and ensure safety in operation before proceeding with the asphalt paving," Mr. Quy said.
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Fire the signal shot.
It is known that the process of evaluating and studying investment in upgrading existing expressways according to phased investment plans was initiated by the Ministry of Transport more than a year ago, based on directives from the head of the Government. By December 2023, the Ministry of Transport had submitted its first report to the Government on the results of the evaluation and study of investment in upgrading existing expressways according to phased investment plans.
The Ministry of Transport is urgently reviewing the research results based on the latest directive from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Official Dispatch No. 16/CD-TTg dated February 21, 2024, regarding accelerating the research and implementation of investment in upgrading existing and planned expressways.
According to the latest report from the Vietnam Expressway Administration, the preliminary total capital requirement for upgrading 2-lane expressways is approximately 82,911 billion VND. Based on traffic conditions and available funding, the Vietnam Expressway Administration plans to prioritize investment options into three groups.
Specifically, priority group 1 will focus on expanding sections of the Eastern North-South Expressway. These are particularly important expressways, part of a nationally important project, including the 98 km Cam Lo - La Son section and the 66 km La Son - Hoa Lien section. The preliminary state capital requirement for this group is approximately 9,511 billion VND; of which about 3,011 billion VND has already been allocated for expanding the La Son - Hoa Lien section, and an additional 6,500 billion VND is needed to expand the Cam Lo - La Son section.
Priority Group 2 will allocate resources to expand routes under construction in order to make timely adjustments to save costs, including VND 10,000 billion to expand 93 km of the Dong Dang - Tra Linh section; VND 12,700 billion to expand 84 km of the Chon Thanh - Duc Hoa section; VND 10,100 billion to expand 104 km of the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang section; and VND 2,500 billion to expand 9 km of the Hai Phong coastal road.
Priority Group 3 will proceed with the expansion of several existing and planned investment routes, including: 53 km of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway through Hoa Binh (sections Km0 - Km19 and Km19 - Km53 are under preparation for investment); 32 km of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway through Son La is under preparation for investment; the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway section from Yen Bai to Lao Cai is currently in operation; the Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh expressway is currently in operation; and the Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi expressway is currently in operation. The preliminary capital requirement for Priority Group 3 is approximately 38,100 billion VND.
However, this is not yet the final option because the Ministry of Transport is awaiting proposals from localities to invest in and upgrade existing and ongoing expressways on a phased basis, in order to compile and finalize a report for the Prime Minister.
“Investing in upgrading and expanding phased expressways with 2 or 4 lanes is not solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport. Local authorities and relevant ministries and agencies need to work together to accelerate the research and development of an optimal investment roadmap. In this process, the Prime Minister's Directive No. 16/CĐ-TTg should be considered the call to action to urgently upgrade phased expressways to meet the country's transportation needs,” commented Mr. Tran Chung, Chairman of the Association of Road Construction Investors.
Highway planning must have a long-term, comprehensive vision (minimum completion standards of 4 lanes for automobiles, sufficient emergency stopping lanes, design speed of 80-100 km/h; the straightest possible route, minimizing passage through residential and military areas; the principle is to build bridges over rivers, tunnels over mountains and hills, and fill in plains with earth and sand) and have an investment plan to complete the highway to the correct standards, avoiding investing in highways with limited 2 lanes, which wastes resources and time for upgrading and expansion. (Notification No. 29/TB-VPCP dated February 15, 2023).
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is reviewing the allocation of capital for expressway projects to ensure a minimum of 4 lanes, with rest stops and emergency lanes. It is absolutely forbidden to invest in expressways with only 2 limited lanes, as this would waste investment capital, lead to inefficient operation, and require additional time and procedures for upgrading. (Notice No. 63/TB-VPCP dated March 2, 2023).
The Ministry of Transport, in coordination with relevant localities, is urgently studying investment and upgrading options for expressways that have been phased in, aiming to achieve full expressway status, in accordance with design standards and transport needs, as directed by the Prime Minister in the aforementioned documents; focusing on investing in expressways with 2 lanes as early as possible. Simultaneously, a comprehensive review and supplementation of infrastructure along the routes (such as intelligent transportation systems, rest stops, etc.) should be conducted; a report should be submitted to the Prime Minister in March 2024. (Official Dispatch No. 16/CĐ-TTg dated February 21, 2024).
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