Expedite the expansion of the Trung Luong Expressway.

Expanding the expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Southwestern region, especially the Trung Luong - My Thuan section, is a long-awaited development for many drivers and residents in the area.

The pre-feasibility study report will be submitted for review in December 2024.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway, connecting the socio -economic center of the Southwest region with Ho Chi Minh City, experiences very high traffic volume, exceeding the road's service capacity.

Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway.

Recently, traffic congestion has been a frequent occurrence, posing many risks of accidents and traffic safety hazards, especially on the Trung Luong - My Thuan section, which was recently invested in with 4 lanes but lacks an emergency stopping lane.

According to calculations by authorities, the current traffic volume on the Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway is much higher than what was estimated 10 years ago. This expressway is becoming a "bottleneck" in the Mekong Delta as the My Thuan - Can Tho, Can Tho - Ca Mau , Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang, Cao Lanh - An Huu... expressways are successively put into operation.

To meet transportation needs and serve socio-economic development, and in accordance with the Prime Minister's directive on researching and implementing the investment project to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway under the public-private partnership (PPP) method, the Ministry of Transport has assigned the consortium of Deo Ca Group - Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company - Tasco Joint Stock Company as the investor to prepare the pre-feasibility study report for the project (investor proposal).

It is understood that the Deo Ca Group consortium (the proposing investor) is currently in the process of finalizing the pre-feasibility study report for the project, and is expected to submit it to the Ministry of Transport for appraisal in December 2024.

According to the proposed plan, the project has a preliminary total investment of approximately 38,693 billion VND, implemented under the PPP method, in the form of a BOT contract, with no participation from the State budget.

The toll collection period for recouping the investment is approximately 23 years and 5 months, with implementation taking place from 2024 to 2028.

Mr. Le Quoc Dung, Acting Director of Project Management Board 7, said that the proposed consortium of investors, led by Deo Ca Group, has implemented many PPP projects nationwide and has extensive experience in management, operation, and implementation, especially in financial arrangement - a very important factor in PPP project investment.

"Recently, although the project is only in the proposal stage, the Deo Ca consortium has made great efforts and been proactive in preparing the investment proposal, securing funding, developing technical solutions, organizing construction, and sourcing materials…," Mr. Dung said.

Previously, on December 9, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting on investment in the expansion project of the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway. The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Transport to research and propose investment, and at the same time urgently implement the next steps so that the project can be started in the second quarter of 2025.

Regarding the project scale, the Deputy Prime Minister basically agreed with the plan proposed by the Ministry of Transport and the investor. However, the Ministry of Transport and the investor need to further discuss with the relevant localities to agree on the optimal investment scale, ensuring feasibility for the expansion and construction to be implemented as soon as possible.

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested that the situation of completed construction projects causing traffic congestion in the short term should not be allowed to occur. The Ministry of Transport, the investor proposing the expansion project, and the consultant are responsible for the calculation and forecasting data, especially regarding traffic volume.

The Ministry of Transport is also tasked with leading and coordinating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to propose a method for selecting investors in accordance with regulations, ensuring that the selected investor has the full capacity and experience to implement the project as soon as possible.

The expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway is expected to be implemented soon to alleviate the risk of traffic congestion on the connecting axis from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta.

Businesses and citizens are waiting.

Expanding the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway is the aspiration of thousands of drivers and residents who travel daily on this vital route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Mekong Delta region.

Mr. Lam Dai Vinh, Director of Lam Vinh Transport Company Limited, said that every month his company handles hundreds of shipments of rice, export and import goods to the Mekong Delta via this expressway. However, most drivers are apprehensive about the narrow road.

"Although it's a highway, the Trung Luong - My Thuan route only has 4 lanes, so every time there's a collision, drivers have to queue for kilometers, causing serious traffic congestion."

"Expanding the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway to 8 lanes would be excellent. Travel time would be faster, businesses would save time, fuel, and costs, and could increase frequency and optimize transportation operations," Mr. Lam Dai Vinh assessed.

Believing that the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway is already overloaded, Trinh Van Minh (a driver on the Can Tho - Ho Chi Minh City route) believes that investment in expanding it needs to be done as quickly as possible. "It's a vital transportation artery connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Mekong Delta provinces, but accidents and traffic jams happen all the time," Minh shared.

From the perspective of a state management agency, Mr. Le Quoc Dung, Acting Director of Project Management Board 7, also affirmed that investing in expanding the expressway is very urgent and the sooner it is done, the better it will be to serve the people and society.

"Currently, the Ministry of Transport and the investor proposing the project are urgently completing procedures and studying regulations and solutions to shorten the project implementation time, striving to start the project on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and reunification of the country (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) as directed," Mr. Dung said.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/som-mo-rong-cao-toc-trung-luong-my-thuan-xoa-nut-that-co-chai-o-mien-tay-192241221094222861.htm