How are Petrolimex's highway rest stop projects progressing?

From mid-2024, the names of investors for rest stops on the North-South Expressway were announced one by one. In March 2025, Bui Quang Thai, Director of the Vietnam Road Administration, presided over the signing ceremony of a series of contracts with the winning bidders for these projects.

The Petrolimex - Thua Thien Hue Petroleum Company consortium has been mentioned many times for winning bids for nearly a dozen projects on the eastern expressway, starting with the Mai Son - National Highway 45 rest stop project, followed by several rest stops in Central Vietnam, and in the South, the rest stop on the Van Phong - Nha Trang section.

Most of the aforementioned projects require the implementation and completion of essential works within 8-9 months. Among them, the Rest Stop Project on the Van Ninh - Cam Lo section has the largest implementation value (354 billion VND); the Rest Stop Project on the Nghi Son - Dien Chau section of the expressway has the lowest value (196 billion VND).

Speaking with a reporter from the Vietnam Law Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Vu Quy, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Unit ( Ministry of Construction - the investor of the Van Ninh - Cam Lo and Cam Lo - La Son sections of the expressway), said that at this time, the progress of the two rest stop projects is facing obstacles. Specifically, although 5 hectares of "clean" land have been handed over for the rest stop in the Van Ninh - Cam Lo section, the joint venture of Petrolimex and Thua Thien Hue Petroleum Company has not yet started construction on the ground.

“The Petrolimex consortium is about 10 days behind schedule. We have been working with them to resolve this issue,” Director Quy added.

To date, Petrolimex has only put into operation the (temporary) rest stop on the Nghi Son - Dien Chau section, even though the contract for this project was signed in August 2024, and this section of the road has been open to traffic and put into operation since September 1, 2023.

By April 30th, 2025, a series of expressway projects such as Bung - Van Ninh, Van Phong - Nha Trang, Van Ninh - Cam Lo… will be open to traffic. However, rest stops are still lacking to ensure integrated operation with the road infrastructure. Furthermore, along the route, there are adjacent component expressway projects such as Van Ninh - Cam Lo and Cam Lo - La Son, approximately 160km long, passing through three provinces: Quang Binh , Quang Tri, and Hue City. Nearly 100km of these have been put into operation, but to date, there are still no rest stops.

Hợp đồng ký từ tháng 8/2024 nhưng đầu năm 2025, Petrolimex mới mở Trạm dừng nghỉ tạm trên cao tốc Bắc Nam đoạn Nghi Sơn - Diễn Châu.

Although the contract was signed in August 2024, Petrolimex only opened the temporary rest stop on the Nghi Son - Dien Chau section of the North-South expressway in early 2025.

Mr. Cao Viet Hung, Deputy Director of PMU2 (Ministry of Construction - the investor of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon section of the expressway project), said that this road project will be open to traffic on December 31, 2025. This means that by then, the rest stop construction there must also be completed and put into operation. Currently, 75% of the land for the rest stop in Quang Ngai has been handed over to Petrolimex, but the investor has not yet started construction.

“For these projects, the Vietnam Road Administration plays the role of the competent state agency, representing and signing contracts with investors, including the Petrolimex consortium. The project management boards only coordinate and guide investors in implementing the projects… The Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon rest stop project will be difficult to complete by the end of this year if not closely monitored and supervised,” said Mr. Hung.

In reality, the Petrolimex consortium is simultaneously undertaking multiple projects. If sufficient resources are not allocated, and land acquisition and other procedures are not expedited, then delays in the completion of many projects are highly likely.

Regarding this issue, recently, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh sent a telegram to the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and cities requesting them to accelerate the completion of land clearance and the implementation of investment projects for rest stops along the Eastern North-South Expressway.

The Ministry stated that it has issued numerous directives and documents requesting localities to focus on resolving obstacles and expedite land clearance to ensure the progress of rest stop projects as required by the Prime Minister. However, the current progress of these rest stop projects has not met the requirements.

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