The plan to upgrade over 2,800 km of highways.

TPO - The Ministry of Construction has just completed a review and announced that it needs to mobilize capital of up to half a trillion VND to upgrade and complete more than 2,800 km of expressways currently operating at a limited scale of 2 and 4 lanes.

Many projects are accelerating construction.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Construction , the country currently has over 2,800 km of expressways that have been or are being phased in (mainly with limited 2 or 4 lanes), of which 76% of the length is invested with public capital and 24% through public-private partnerships (PPP). Expanding these routes is considered particularly necessary in the context of increasing transportation demand and the improved availability of state resources and capital mobilization capabilities.

However, the challenge lies in funding. A review by the Ministry of Construction indicates that completing the entire 653 km of two-lane expressways requires nearly 79,600 billion VND. Meanwhile, for the nearly 2,150 km of four-lane expressways, the total capital needed to expand to the planned scale (4-8 lanes) is estimated at approximately 417,460 billion VND.

Cam Lo - La Son Expressway. Photo: Ngoc Van.

To address the infrastructure challenges, many projects are being urgently implemented on the ground. For the group of 2-lane expressways, five routes totaling 329 km are currently under construction to be expanded to four lanes: Cam Lo - La Son, La Son - Hoa Lien, Yen Bai - Lao Cai , Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang (the section through Ha Giang), and Coc Nam Border Gate - Huu Nghi Border Gate. This group of projects has a total expansion investment of approximately 17,669 billion VND and has essentially secured sufficient funding.

For the limited 4-lane expressway group, the 66 km sections currently under expansion are Cao Bo - Mai Son (public investment, expected to be completed this year) and Trung Luong - My Thuan (PPP investment, expected to be completed in 2028).

In addition, investment preparation is also being accelerated by localities. The Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh route (26 km) has been approved for PPP investment with a total capital of approximately 8,000 billion VND. Six other routes, nearly 300 km long, have also been studied for upgrading to 4 lanes, notably the Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi route, which is expected to be a PPP investment without requiring state budget support.

The Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway is under rapid construction, aiming for the near-completed section of nearly 69 km by April 30th. Photo: Construction Newspaper.

Routes such as Dong Dang - Tra Linh, Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang, Hoa Binh - Moc Chau, and Ninh Binh - Hai Phong are also being proposed for expansion with the mobilization of trillions of VND from the central government budget.

Do the low-cost sections right away.

On the Eastern North-South Expressway, the section from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is currently being presented to the Government by the Ministry of Construction with proposed expansion options, with capital requirements potentially ranging from 63,500 billion VND (if only the radial sections are expanded) to 154,335 billion VND (if the entire 1,144 km route is expanded).

In order to expedite the completion of the expressway network, the Ministry of Construction has proposed that the Government direct localities to accelerate the investment preparation and capital allocation for important projects such as Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi, Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh, Dong Dang - Tra Linh, etc.

In particular, the agency emphasized prioritizing the immediate expansion of sections with relatively low expansion costs compared to the approved total investment and that are currently under construction (such as Tan Phu - Bao Loc, Bao Loc - Lien Khuong). Publicly funded sections were also required to be reviewed to ensure the synchronous addition of technical infrastructure and expedite procedures to meet the requirements for toll collection as soon as possible.

In January, Deo Ca Group Joint Stock Company submitted a proposal to fully mobilize private capital to invest in expanding the My Thuan - Can Tho expressway (approximately 23 km) to a complete 6-lane highway using the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) method. The investor also proposed expanding the connecting route from the Than Cuu Nghia interchange to National Highway 1A (approximately 6 km) to 6 lanes for motorized vehicles and 2 mixed lanes. The Ministry of Construction recently responded to the company, welcoming the proposal and instructing the Vietnam Road Administration to coordinate and guide the investor in studying the necessary procedures.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/lo-trinh-len-doi-hon-2800-km-cao-toc-post1825792.tpo