By 2026, the Mekong Delta will have 600km of highway.

Recently, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference on the implementation of expressway projects in the Mekong Delta region in Can Tho City. The Prime Minister requested central ministries, branches and localities to handle remaining difficulties and problems; continue to urge and direct investors and contractors to mobilize full financial resources, human resources, materials, equipment, organize construction in "3 shifts, 4 teams", and soon complete expressway projects as planned. It is expected that by 2026, the Mekong Delta region will complete about 600km of expressway, serving the strong socio-economic development of the region.

Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway (expressway section through Can Tho city) is expected to be completed in 2026.

Many projects are expected to be completed in 2025

According to the Ministry of Construction , the Mekong Delta region is implementing 11 projects, component projects (DATP) of expressways with a total length of 434.7km. Of which, the Ministry of Construction is the managing agency of 5 projects, DATP with a total length of 211.77km; localities are the managing agencies of 6 projects, DATP with a total length of 216.93km.

Regarding projects managed by the Ministry of Construction, there are up to 4 projects planned to be completed in 2025 with a length of 191.17km, including: Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau with a length of 110.87km; Cao Lanh - Lo Te with a length of 28.8km; Lo Te - Rach Soi with a length of 51.5km. The remaining project is My An - Cao Lanh with a length of 26.6km, which just started construction in July 2025 and the Ministry plans to complete it in 2028.

With 6 projects, DATP of localities is the managing agency, DATP 1 Cao Lanh - An Huu with the People's Committee of Dong Thap province as the managing agency is also planned to be completed in 2025 with a length of 16km. The remaining projects are planned to be completed in 2026, put into full operation in 2027 with a length of 200.93km. The Prime Minister has directed to shorten the progress of these projects, specifically: DATP 1 Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang with a length of 57km with the People's Committee of An Giang province as the managing agency is striving to be completed by December 19, 2025; DATP 2, DATP 3, DATP 4 Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway, 132.5km long, with Can Tho City People's Committee as the managing agency, and DATP 2 Cao Lanh - An Huu, 11.43km long, with Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee as the managing agency, strive to complete by April 30, 2026.

According to the Ministry of Construction, regarding project progress, the Cao Lanh - Lo Te route has a production value of 92%, basically completing the main route, continuing to complete the frontage road and Lo Te intersection; Lo Te - Rach Soi has a production value of 99%, has basically completed the main items, and is completing the traffic safety system; Can Tho - Ca Mau has a production value of 75%; Cao Lanh - An Huu: DATP 1 has a production value of 68%, DATP 2 has a production value of 53.4%; Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang: DATP 1 has a production value of 62% and DATP 2, DATP 3, DATP 4 has an average production value of 45%.

Mr. Pham Minh Ha, Deputy Minister of Construction, said: The total demand for sand for foundation projects is about 54.2 million m3, the demand for stone is about 8.7 million m3. To ensure the source of materials for projects, the progress of licensing sand mines to date has basically met the needs of the projects. Specifically: the sand material for foundation projects has been licensed by localities to exploit 63.31 million m3/demand of 54.2 million m3 for projects, however, the permitted exploitation capacity has not met the progress of project implementation; the source of stone materials has been identified at 5.5 million m3, the source of more than 3 million m3 has not been identified. For projects planned to be completed in 2025, the total demand for stone is 2.9 million m3, the source of 2.6 million m3 has been identified, there is still a shortage of 0.3 million m3, priority supply from stone mines in Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang...

Regarding the progress of site clearance, the projects have basically been completed; currently, there is only the problem of site clearance for traffic supervision and operation at the Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau projects through the provinces and cities of Can Tho, An Giang, and Ca Mau (the investor handed over the site clearance markers to the localities from the beginning of September 2025) and some high-voltage power line locations through the provinces and cities of Can Tho and Dong Thap have not been relocated.

Continue to remove difficulties and ensure project completion progress.

Mr. Tran Van Thi, Director of My Thuan Project Management Board, said: Up to now, the Board has completed the task of completing Rach Mieu 2 Bridge, Cao Lanh - Lo Te and Lo Te - Rach Soi which are about to be completed. With 2 DATP Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau projects with a length of more than 110km, the Board is focusing on completing them on December 19, 2025 under the direction of the Prime Minister; at the construction site, more than 1,000 locomotives and equipment, 3,000 workers, working in "3 shifts, 4 teams"; continuing to apply solutions to speed up the progress of the project, completing it soon and putting it into operation.

According to Mr. Le Minh Cuong, Director of the Management Board of Investment Projects for Construction of Traffic and Agricultural Works of Can Tho City, DATP 2, DATP 3, DATP 4 Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway (the expressway section through Can Tho City) has a total length of about 132.47km, including 100 bridges (about 19km long), the bridge section strives to be completed by the end of this year. The total demand for sand filling materials for the three component projects is about 20 million m3, of which the source of more than 17 million m3 has been identified. Can Tho City has worked with Vinh Long province to support and ensure the sand source for the project. Regarding construction progress, the three component projects have a total of 11 construction packages (10 construction packages and 1 traffic safety system construction package); the value of implementation to date is more than 8,943 billion VND, reaching 45% progress.

Speaking at a recent conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized: In order for the Mekong Delta to develop, it is necessary to solve many problems, including two key issues that need to be prioritized: strategic infrastructure and investment in developing high-quality human resources. These two areas must go first to pave the way. Therefore, in recent years, the Party and State have paid great attention to the Mekong Delta region, determined to develop the Mekong Delta expressway system, planned about 1,300km of expressway in the region, studied the construction of Tran De Port, are constructing Hon Khoai Port, continue to upgrade Phu Quoc and Ca Mau airports... The total investment capital for transport infrastructure in the Mekong Delta in this term is preliminarily estimated at nearly 600,000 billion VND, the highest in the socio-economic regions. From now until 2026, about 600km of expressway in the Mekong Delta region will be completed.

The Prime Minister requested that in the coming time, localities focus on leadership and direction, project management boards and contractors focus on the expressway projects that have been implemented, quickly, promptly, and on schedule. Currently, there are still problems with site clearance and power infrastructure, localities and the Electricity Group will handle them thoroughly in October 2025. The National Assembly has passed a resolution to remove difficulties in material supply, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will guide implementation, the mine capacity must meet the sand requirements of contractors and project management boards; no hoarding or price gouging is allowed, and any signs of violations must be strictly handled. The Ministry of Construction will continue to urge and direct investors and contractors to mobilize full financial resources, human resources, material resources, equipment, organize construction in "3 shifts, 4 shifts", strictly handle contractors behind schedule; projects inaugurated on December 19, 2025 must be done well and well prepared. The Ministry of National Defense directed relevant units to mobilize human resources and equipment to speed up investment in the expressway project from Ca Mau to Dat Mui and the road project to Hon Khoai Port.

The Prime Minister also requested Can Tho City and An Giang Province to direct the investor and contractors of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang project to properly fulfill their contractual obligations and take full responsibility for the progress and quality of the project. Dong Thap Province strongly urged and directed the investor and contractors of the Cao Lanh - An Huu component project 1 to regularly monitor and track subsidence developments to decide when to unload; proactively coordinate with relevant agencies of localities with quarries to prioritize material supply for the project; increase financial resources, human resources, equipment, organize construction in "3 shifts and 4 teams", speed up the project completion progress. An Giang Province accelerated the progress of implementing investment procedures for the route connecting the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway to Tinh Bien border gate and Khanh Binh border gate.

The Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway Project Phase 1 has a total length of about 188.2km (passing through Can Tho City and An Giang Province), with a total investment of 44,691 billion VND from the central and local budgets. When completed and put into use, this horizontal expressway project will contribute to meeting transportation needs; promote the efficiency of exploiting the North - South vertical expressways, create favorable conditions to connect economic centers in the region, seaports and international border gates..., creating a driving force for socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta region.

Article and photos: ANH KHOA

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nam-2026-dbscl-se-co-600km-duong-cao-toc-a192851.html