Strive to complete highways in the Mekong Delta on schedule

The Government Office has just issued Notice No. 590/TB-VPCP dated October 31, 2025, concluding the Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's meeting on the implementation of expressway projects in the Mekong Delta region.

Relevant units have made efforts to overcome difficulties.

The announcement stated: In recent years, the Party and State have paid special attention and devoted huge resources to investing in developing transport infrastructure for the Mekong Delta region, including highway projects, along with investing in developing high-quality human resources, making an important contribution to the development of the region and the overall development of the country.

The Prime Minister acknowledged and commended the active participation and wholehearted efforts of ministries, branches, localities, project management boards, enterprises, construction contractors, supervision consultants, especially the team of engineers, workers and laborers directly working at the highway project sites in the past time; thanked the support of the People and the community for actively assisting and promptly handing over the entire site for project construction.

Local authorities at all levels have shown political determination, unified awareness and drastic actions, made efforts to overcome difficulties and challenges, focused on leadership and direction to remove difficulties and obstacles, and solved the most difficult stage, which is to arrange sufficient sources of rocks and materials for roadbed filling (mobilized and supplied enough sand for roadbed filling for projects scheduled to be completed in 2025, including Can Tho- Hau Giang -Ca Mau Expressway, Cao Lanh-An Huu Component 1 Project, Cao Lanh-Lo Te, Lo Te-Rach Soi Project), to complete about 600km of expressway in the Mekong Delta region in the period of 2021-2026, as a premise for continuing to invest in the construction of expressway routes in the region according to the plan in the following period.

Some projects are still stuck

In addition to the achieved results, investment in developing the transport infrastructure system in the Mekong Delta region still has some limitations: Difficulties in project management and operation capacity in some localities; construction on weak ground, complex terrain and geology; localities are slow to issue unit prices for common construction materials according to the specific mechanism at the mine, leading to confusion in coordinating, supplying and paying for filling materials at some highway projects.

Some projects still have problems with site clearance, especially the relocation of electrical infrastructure and underground works, which have been directed by the Prime Minister many times, but to date there are still some high-voltage power stations that have not been relocated.

Units speed up construction on the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang expressway, the section passing through Vinh Hanh commune, An Giang province. (Photo: Thanh Sang/VNA)

Some projects and works that are behind schedule need the involvement of inspection and examination agencies such as the Can Tho Oncology Hospital project, the component 4 project of the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang expressway...

The main reason for the above limitations is that the implementation of the Government's and the Prime Minister's directives is slow, hesitant, and indecisive in some places and at other times; the general advisory agencies have not been bold in their proposals and have not carefully studied the instructions of ministries and branches to have sufficient information to advise local leaders in directing and implementing projects...

No work congestion

To complete the highway projects in the Mekong Delta region on schedule and with quality, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested local Party committees and authorities to focus on leading and directing investors, project management boards, contractors, and consulting units to focus on implementing the projects, ensuring speed, timeliness, and quality according to the direction of the Government leaders.

Review the staff under the management scope when implementing the 2-level local government model, ensuring that they are streamlined and have enough capacity to smoothly perform assigned tasks, cut administrative procedures, reduce costs for people and businesses; promote the spirit of solidarity, unity, support, and mutual sharing, and avoid work congestion for people, businesses, and project implementation.

Maintain security and order in the area; constantly care about the lives of people who have given up their land, residences, and places of worship for the project, ensuring that people stabilize their lives in their new residences in a better direction than their old residences.

Proactive and flexible in coordinating construction materials

The Prime Minister also assigned a number of relevant ministries, branches and localities to handle a number of tasks related to site clearance, construction materials, etc.

Regarding site clearance , the Prime Minister requested the Minister of Industry and Trade to direct Vietnam Electricity Group to coordinate with the People's Committees of localities to relocate all electrical infrastructure within the scope of expressway projects, and report to the Prime Minister the implementation results before November 5, 2025.

Regarding construction materials, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities of Can Tho, An Giang, Vinh Long, and Dong Thap shall, based on the provisions of law (including Resolution No. 66.4/2025/NQ-CP dated September 21, 2025 of the Government), immediately grant licenses for mining of common construction materials according to a special mechanism (granted directly to highway construction investment projects at the request of project management boards and contractors, ensuring compliance with legal regulations); proactively assist and support each other and support project management boards and construction contractors; flexibly transfer fill materials according to their authority between projects that have been granted material mines according to a special mechanism and projects using public investment capital in accordance with legal regulations.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment continues to guide and support the People's Committees of localities (Can Tho, An Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap) to increase capacity, extend mining licenses and grant new licenses for material mines to meet project needs, ensuring compliance with legal regulations; not to let sand, gravel, and stone be lacking; promptly resolve any arising problems, report to the Prime Minister if there are problems beyond authority; not to let negativity, waste, "hoarding goods," "inflating prices," causing loss of state assets occur.

The Prime Minister requested that in the process of increasing the capacity of mining materials, special attention must be paid to the environment, subsidence, riverbank erosion...; not to harm the environment for the purpose of supplying materials, and not to use unreasonable environmental protection reasons to hinder the supply of filling materials for key national projects.

The People's Committee of An Giang province continues to urgently supply stone for expressway projects in the region; including 400,000m3 for the Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway project, 300,000m3 for component project 1 Cao Lanh-An Huu (The People's Committee of Dong Thap province directs the Project Management Board to urgently work with departments and branches of the People's Committee of An Giang province on the demand and progress of stone supply for the Project).

Vehicles transporting sand and rock for highway construction, section passing through Vinh Hanh commune, An Giang province. (Photo: Thanh Sang/VNA)

The People's Committees of the provinces and cities of Can Tho, An Giang, Dong Thap, and Vinh Long urgently directed the Department of Finance and the Department of Construction to announce the price of materials at the mines according to a special mechanism, as a basis for investors and project management boards (including the My Thuan Project Management Board and the Ministry of Construction) to settle costs for common construction materials (including sand for road filling).

Investors and contractors must be proactive and flexible in coordinating materials between projects; proactively report results and needs for using licensed material sources according to specific mechanisms so that the People's Committees of localities can promptly and flexibly transfer materials; strictly prohibit collusion between contractors and material suppliers, affecting progress and quality, and increasing costs of works and projects.

The Ministry of National Defense urgently supports machinery and equipment for sand exploitation and transportation for the People's Committee of Can Tho City to exploit and supply for component projects 2, 3, and 4 of the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang expressway.

Mobilizing human resources and equipment to speed up investment in 4 projects in Ca Mau province

Regarding the 4 projects managed and invested by the Ministry of National Defense in Ca Mau province (Ca Mau-Cai Nuoc, Cai Nuoc-Dat Mui Expressway Project, the road to Hon Khoai Island and Hon Khoai Dual-Use Port), the Ministry of National Defense directed relevant units to mobilize human resources and equipment, speed up investment in the 4 above-mentioned projects; proactively coordinate with the People's Committees of localities in the region to mobilize construction materials (river sand, sea sand, stone, gravel...) to meet the requirements of project construction progress according to the set plan.

The People's Committee of Can Tho City shall study the opinions of the Ministry of National Defense at the meeting, promptly carry out the procedures for granting licenses for sand mining (about 20 million m3) in the Tran De port area according to its authority and legal regulations, resolve flexibly and urgently, without delay, and ensure the completion of mining licensing before November 15, 2025 so that the Ministry of National Defense (Truong Son Construction Corporation) can promptly implement the above 4 projects as planned.

The People's Committees of Dong Thap, Vinh Long, and An Giang provinces shall flexibly and promptly appraise, approve, and grant mining licenses according to their authority and in accordance with the provisions of law, ensuring completion in November 2025, ensuring sufficient volume as requested by contractors for the projects so that the Ministry of National Defense (Truong Son Construction Corporation) can carry out sand mining for the above projects as planned.

Speed up project progress

Regarding speeding up the progress of projects, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to continue to support and guide the People's Committees of Can Tho city and Vinh Long province on solutions to speed up the progress of projects managed by localities (including solutions to shorten the loading time); My Thuan Project Management Board should pay attention to and support the experience and solutions for construction of projects in the Mekong Delta region to speed up the progress of expressway projects, especially component projects 2, 3, 4 of Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang expressway.

The Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang expressway construction project runs through rice fields in Vinh Hanh commune, An Giang province. (Photo: Thanh Sang/VNA)

The Ministry of Construction directed the My Thuan Project Management Board to drastically accelerate the completion of the Cao Lanh-Lo Te-Rach Soi and Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway projects to complete the main route by December 19, 2025; at the same time, accelerate the progress of 04km of the My An-Cao Lanh project, ensuring synchronous connection with the Cao Lanh-An Huu project.

The Prime Minister requested the Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City to direct agencies and units to urgently study and learn from the experience in managing and operating the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway Component 1 project from An Giang province and the experience in managing and operating the project from the My Thuan Project Management Board (Ministry of Construction) to promote the progress of projects under their management, not to let projects be behind schedule as in the past; continue to work with the People's Committees of Vinh Long and Dong Thap provinces to receive support for sand sources for filling the projects.

The People's Committee of An Giang province urgently speeds up the progress of the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway component 1 project, ensuring the route is open in 2025 as committed by the Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province at the meeting; speed up 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.

Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee directed to accelerate the progress of the Cao Lanh-An Huu expressway project (including completing component project 1 in 2025, completing component project 2 on April 30, 2026)./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phan-dau-hoan-thanh-dung-tien-do-cac-duong-cao-toc-tai-dong-bang-song-cuu-long-post1074176.vnp