Nearly 70 percent of ground for North-South Expressway cleared for construction hinh anh 1Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway in the southern region under construction (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Localities with 11 sub-projects in the eastern North-South Expressway have completed site clearance on 454.15 km, or 69.5 percent of the total length.

Meanwhile, among the 113 resettlement areas needed to be built, 31 have received the go-ahead while the remaining 82 are being surveyed and designed before approval is sought, the Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau at the Ministry of Transport said.

According to the plan on developing Vietnam’s expressway network to 2020 and vision to 2030, the North-South Expressway is to be 2,109 km long and stretch from the northern mountainous province of Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

The road will see certain eastern sections, 654 km in length in total, receive investment in the 2017-2020 period. These are divided into the 11 sub-projects, with three set to be funded by the State budget and the remaining eight implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) format.

However, the eight PPP sub-projects are seeking approval from the National Assembly to be converted into State-invested ones.

At a meeting last weekend, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The asked sub-project management boards to specify the number of bidding packages and accelerate site clearance and other relevant works so that, when the legislature permits the sought-after transformation, construction can begin in August.

Several sections of the North-South Expressway have already been put into operation or are under construction.

Once completed, the expressway is to become a backbone connecting the length of the country and will help improve national competitiveness, attract foreign investment, and create more momentum for socioeconomic development./.
VNA