On the afternoon of October 19, in Can Tho City, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference on the implementation of expressway projects in the Mekong Delta region.
Also attending were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha; representatives of central ministries and branches; leaders of provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta; project management boards, contractors...
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed at the conference on implementing expressway projects in the Mekong Delta region.
PHOTO: TRUNG PHAM
Mr. Pham Minh Ha, Deputy Minister of Construction, said that in the Mekong Delta, the Ministry of Construction and localities are implementing 11 expressway projects with a total length of 434.7 km. Of these, 4 projects are managed by the Ministry of Construction, with a total length of more than 191 km, expected to be completed on December 19, 2025 under the direction of the Prime Minister.
To date, the Cao Lanh - Lo Te expressway has reached 92% of its volume; the Lo Te - Rach Soi expressway has reached 99%. The Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway (including 2 component projects, started on January 1, 2023) has only reached about 75%, progress is slow because the construction of the foundation and asphalt concrete road surface is greatly affected by the rainy season. The Ministry has requested the investor to request the contractor to mobilize 1,000 locomotives and equipment, 3,000 workers, and organize 200 construction teams to ensure implementation on schedule.
Mr. Pham Minh Ha, Deputy Minister of Construction, reported on the implementation of expressway projects in the Mekong Delta.
PHOTO: TRUNG PHAM
Regarding stone materials, with highways planned to be completed in 2025, the total demand is 2.9 million m3 , the source has been identified but the supply capacity from localities (Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City) is still limited. The reason is that these localities must simultaneously supply materials for many key projects in the area. As for sand filling materials, localities have granted mining licenses with reserves exceeding demand, but the permitted mining capacity has not yet met the construction progress.
According to the Ministry of Construction, the capacity of sand mines not meeting the load-bearing schedule is the biggest difficulty of the Mekong Delta expressway. In particular, the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway (expected to be completed in 2026) is still short of about 11 million m3 of sand. Although the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have provided guidance on the use of sea sand to reduce pressure on river sand resources, localities have not yet implemented it. The Ministry of Construction is finalizing to issue standards on the use of sea sand as roadbed material in November 2025.
Workers on the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang highway
PHOTO: THANH DUY
Time is fixed, only work, no backtracking
At the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the Mekong Delta still needs to solve many problems to develop. Among them, two issues that must be pioneered are developing high-quality human resources and strategic infrastructure (including the transportation system ). This region is both building and planning about 1,300 km of highways, along with waterways and airways. Up to now, the central government has invested about 600,000 billion VND in developing the transportation system for the Mekong Delta, demonstrating the great concern of the Party and the State.
According to the plan, by June 2026, the Mekong Delta will complete about 600 km of expressway. In the spirit of urgency, local Party committees and authorities need to focus on leading project management boards and encouraging contractors to quickly deploy expressway projects in accordance with the Prime Minister's direction. During the implementation process, localities must pay special attention to the lives and livelihoods of people who have been given land with the goal of supporting new housing that is better than the old housing.
Regarding material sources, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the State’s tools, mechanisms and policies are fully available. Provinces will use these to directly supply sand and stone mines to investors, project management boards and contractors. It is necessary to flexibly adjust materials from vertical to horizontal highways, from one locality to another and vice versa. In particular, it is necessary to prevent hoarding, price gouging and market manipulation, especially when providing commercial sand mines.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested to only discuss, not delay, expressway projects in the Mekong Delta, which have been scheduled for completion on December 19, 2025.
PHOTO: TRUNG PHAM
The Prime Minister reminded contractors to fight against negativity and corruption. At the same time, he added that he would ask provincial and ministerial inspectors to investigate a number of key areas related to sand and stone mines. The Government is determined not to let criminals take advantage of State policies and people's assets fall into private hands and be exploited. There must be absolutely no shortage of rocks, sand, gravel, and common materials for leveling, filling, and forced loading of expressways.
At the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned specific tasks in the spirit of "clear people, clear work". The Department of Construction and the Department of Finance of the provinces must urgently announce the prices of material sources. An Giang province will be the place to remove difficulties in stone sources. Vinh Long will support sand sources. The Ministry of National Defense will support techniques and machinery for localities to dredge and blow river sand, especially for Can Tho. In particular, the expressway projects that have been set to complete on December 19, 2025, together we are determined to implement, only discuss work, not discuss backtracking.
Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-cao-toc-dbscl-ve-dich-dung-hen-khong-ban-lui-185251019201443479.htm
Comment (0)