At a construction site of the North-South Expressway’s eastern section for 2021-2025. (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – The sub-projects of a mega project to build the eastern wing of the North-South Expressway are hindered by issues regarding site clearance and materials.
Although the deadline is set for 2025, the problems relating to land clearance and material supply remain pending.
Land handover must be done in Q1
The Ministry of Transport reported that up to 95.5% of land (689km) needed for the project has been handed over to contractors, of which 94% is ready for construction.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Lam, however, said the building of resettlement areas and the relocation of high voltage power lines to serve the project are not yet completed.
He cited statistics showing that only 104 out of the 148 resettlement areas under the project have been completed so far.
The stagnation is seen in such localities as Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Da Nang, Tuyen Quang, Kien Giang, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City.
Power lines remain hurdles to some sub-projects. (Photo: VietnamPlus)To ensure the project progress, the Ministry of Transport has asked localities to complete the site clearance work, speed up on the building of resettlement areas and coordinate with Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to relocate high-voltage power lines.
Site clearance must be done within the first quarter of this year, Lam said, considering it a prerequisite for the project to be completed in 2025.
Material shortage
For the 2021-2025 sub-projects from the central province of Ha Tinh to the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, sand and soil exploited have basically met construction needs.
Meanwhile, contractors have registered exploitation volumes for the other mines, and are coordinating with localities to complete procedures for the transfer of land use rights, land lease, and land conversion, with all the mines expected to be fully exploited in March.
Sand shortage should be settled soon to serve the construction. (Photo: VietnamPlus) There are some projects for which supply sources have not been fully determined yet such as HCM City’s Ring Road 3, and the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway.
Against the backdrop, the Ministry of Transport has urged localities to quickly identify supply sources, and coordinate with investors and constructors to complete procedures for the mining.
Localities should work to soon complete mining procedures and raise material supply capacity. (Photo: VietnamPlus) An Giang, Vinh Long and Dong Thap provinces were asked to quickly review current mines, raise supply capacity, and assign new mines to contractors to implement mining procedures, thus ensuring enough sand for the construction by June 30.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has coordinated with other ministries and agencies to issue documents guiding localities and contractors to implement special mining mechanisms, especially beach sand mines in the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Soc Trang.
The expressway, with a total length of 2,063km, when completed, will span from the northern border province of Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.
It will traverse 32 provinces and cities, connecting four key economic regions, including the two major economic hubs – Hanoi and HCM City.
Over the past years, central agencies and localities have worked hard to carry out expressway projects nationwide. Nearly 1,900km of expressways have been put into use so far, and efforts are being exerted to raise the total length to more than 3,000km by 2025./.
