Accelerating Investment Preparation for Key Expressways in the 2026–2030 Period

On May 20, the Ministry of Construction organized an online conference to review the investment preparation status of expressway projects slated for implementation during the 2026–2030 period. The conference was connected to various localities hosting the projects to review timelines, dismantle bottlenecks, and accelerate investment preparation for key expressways. Mr. Le Anh Tuan—Deputy Minister of Construction—chaired the event.

Provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Quach Tat Liem addresses the conference.

According to the report by the Ministry of Construction, Vietnam has commissioned and technically opened to traffic approximately 3,345 km of expressways to date. Concurrently, around 1,252 km are under construction and scheduled for completion before 2027. If these projects progress as planned, the nation’s total expressway network will reach about 4,561 km, creating a solid launchpad to fulfill the strategic target of putting over 5,000 km of expressways into operation by 2030.

For the 2026–2030 period, the Ministry of Construction plans to prioritize investment in two project groups spanning a total length of approximately 1,721 km, with an estimated total preliminary investment of about 802,823 billion VND. Within this framework, the first group comprises projects under the Action Program of the Party Central Committee, totaling around 1,251 km in length. The second group focuses on bottleneck-clearing routes aimed at boosting connectivity between key growth poles, spanning approximately 470 km and including the following routes: Phu Tho - Hoa Lac, Hoa Binh - Son La - Dien Bien, and Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang.

Reporting at the conference, Vice Chairman Quach Tat Liem stated that the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Project (Km0+00 – Km19+00 section) spans 12.25 km, cutting through Tan Hoa Ward and Da Bac Commune in Phu Tho Province. The project requires an estimated total investment of over 5,653 billion VND, engineered for a design speed of 80 km/h, featuring a complete 4-lane scale, a 22-meter-wide roadbed, median strips, and emergency stopping lanes.

Currently, the province has completed the Pre-Feasibility Study Report (Pre-FS) and is executing appraisal procedures to secure investment policy approval. The province requested the Ministry of Construction to report and propose that the Prime Minister allocate central budget capital to deploy the project according to schedule.

Regarding the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Project (Km19 – Km53 section), this 34 km stretch passes through Da Bac, Cao Son, Tien Phong, and Tan Mai communes of Phu Tho Province, and Van Ho commune of Son La Province. The total investment for its complete phase stands at approximately 18,168 billion VND. To date, compensation, support, and resettlement work has been fundamentally finalized, and the site has been handed over to contractors for construction. The project comprises 4 civil works packages, with the executed value reaching about 1,640 out of 8,332 billion VND, equivalent to 19.7% of the contract value.

However, execution faces steep challenges due to rugged mountainous terrain and complex geological conditions that pose landslide risks. The project features large technical scales with special items such as major cable-stayed bridges, mountain tunnels, and high-pier bridges, demanding complex engineering and extended construction timelines. Additionally, price fluctuations in fuel and building materials have exerted pressure on costs and progress.

Phu Tho Province requested the Prime Minister to allocate an additional 1,005.99 billion VND in missing central budget capital within the 2027 capital allocation plan to secure project progress. The province also sought permission to expand the route from its current 2-lane sub-phase scale to a complete 4-lane scale to meet transport demands and upgrade long-term investment efficiency.

For the investment project constructing the Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh Road and upgrading National Highway 6 (Xuan Mai - Hoa Binh section) under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) method, the route spans 23 km with a 6-lane scale and a design speed of 100 km/h. The project includes 3 components: site clearance in Hanoi, site clearance in Phu Tho, and expanding the Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh route under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) form.

The preliminary total investment is about 10,475 billion VND, requiring the recovery of 253.82 hectares of land. Currently in its investment preparation phase, investors are conducting surveys, formulating the Feasibility Study Report (FS), and perfecting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) to submit to competent authorities for appraisal and approval.

Phu Tho Province requested the Ministry of Construction to report to the Prime Minister to consider adjusting the investment policy toward phasing the investment into a 4-lane scale during the 2026–2030 period, before completing it to a 6-lane scale during the 2030–2035 phase. Simultaneously, the province proposed raising the ratio of state capital participation in the project during the phased investment period from 37.8% to under 50%.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Minister of Construction Le Anh Tuấn acknowledged and highly commended the proactiveness of localities in preparing investments for expressway projects for the 2026–2030 period.

The Deputy Minister emphasized that the synchronized development of transport infrastructure frameworks, particularly the expressway network, plays a decisive role in expanding development space, boosting regional connectivity, slashing logistics costs, and serving as a driving force for the socio-economic development of localities and the nation at large.

To guarantee the progress of perfecting dossiers and investment procedures, the Deputy Minister urged localities to thoroughly review investment necessities, technical scales, route alignments, total investment capital, and capital balancing capacities. Localities must closely coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and relevant ministries to process emerging bottlenecks. He underscored that localities need to focus heavily on planning, site clearance, and preparing construction material supplies so that once projects are approved, construction can commence immediately to ensure investment efficiency.

The Deputy Minister assigned specialized units under the Ministry of Construction to fully compile local proposals, collaborate with relevant agencies to advise competent authorities on regulatory solutions, and continue guiding and supporting localities to complete their investment preparation dossiers.

Le Minh