Ministry urged to finalise specific mechanisms for trans-national expressway

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) should accelerate the construction of specific mechanisms for the North-South Expressway projects and submit them to the Government for consideration, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has urged.

Vietnam will build an additional 654km of the North-South expressway in the east of the country by 2020. To date, 223km of the North-South expressway running from the Huu Nghi border gate in the northern province of Lang Son to the southern city of Ca Mau have been completed and are now open to traffic.
Vietnam will build an additional 654km of the North-South expressway in the east of the country by 2020. To date, 223km of the North-South expressway running from the Huu Nghi border gate in the northern province of Lang Son to the southern city of Ca Mau have been completed and are now open to traffic.

>>> Over VND118 trillion required to build North-South expressway in the east

At a conference held this morning to review the ministry’s operations in 2017 and deploy the 2018 tasks, Deputy PM Dung asked the Government Office to coordinate with the MOT to complete a governmental draft resolution in order to implement the National Assembly (NA) resolution on building several sections along the trans-national expressway in the east of the country during 2017-2020.

The draft document should be submitted to the government for consideration and approval at the regular cabinet meeting this January, he added.

Last November, the NA issued a resolution on the construction of several routes on the North-South highway in the east of the country during 2017-2020. Accordingly, during 2017-2020, 654 km on the route will be invested in and divided into independent sub-projects with specific forms and scales of investment suitable to each component.

The NA has assigned the Government to develop mechanisms in order to mobilise resources to invest in the project. Therefore, Deputy PM Dung asked the relevant agencies to soon submit it to the Government for promulgation of the draft resolution to implement the project, ensuring its completion by 2021.

Dung requested the MOT to organise open and transparent bidding to select the qualified investors to deploy the packages, while ensuring the project’s quality and progress and avoid any losses.

Praising the ministry’s contribution to the national socio-economic development in the past year, he suggested that, in 2018, the MOT should focus on handling issues around toll collection in BOT projects to ensure harmonious benefits for both sides. It was asked to review and reduce the cost of services at airports, while strengthening the control over overloaded vehicles.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung speaks at the conference. (Credit: VGP)