On the morning of March 8, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son chaired a conference to tackle difficulties in key expressway projects passing through northern mountainous provinces, including Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang, Dong Dang - Tra Linh, and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang expressways.

Accompanying the Deputy Prime Minister were representatives from the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Government Office, as well as leaders of the four provinces where the projects are implemented: Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lang Son, and Tuyen Quang.

Concurrently completing site clearance for projects in Q1 2025

The delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son conducted an on-site inspection at the overpass of National Highway 37 interchange (Km12+500) under Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway project and received the progress report on the project's implementation in Tuyen Quang province.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son inspected the construction progress of Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway section passing through Tuyen Quang at National Highway 37 interchange

Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway project spans a total length of 105 km, with the total investment estimated at nearly 393 million USD. As a large-scale infrastructure project, it holds significant importance for the economic and social development of the local areas and the northern region.

The project is divided into 6 construction and installation packages (XL19 - XL24), of which package XL24 includes 22 bridges along the route and has a total value exceeding 24.6 million USD.

Construction of Ham Yen Bridge (part of package XL24, Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway project)

After the on-site inspection, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son chaired a conference at the headquarter of Tuyen Quang Provincial People’s Committee to accelerate the progress of key northern expressway projects.

The overall view of the conference.

Speaking at the conference, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the completion of these projects, spanning a total length of 257.5 km, is essential to achieving the government’s goal of completing 3,000 km of expressways by 2025.

After reviewing reports on challenges in site clearance, the Deputy Prime Minister instructed local authorities to implement the "5 clear" principle: clear responsibility, clear tasks, clear timeline, clear progress, and clear outcomes. Additionally, he emphasized the need to secure sufficient funding and develop a detailed construction plan to stay on schedule.

Regarding Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway project (the section passing through Tuyen Quang province), Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son noted that approximately 5.7 km of land has yet to be handed over due to issues related to forestry land, delays in relocating technical infrastructure, and resettlement. He urged the provincial leadership to commit to completing site clearance and addressing the shortage of embankment materials within March, while ensuring the relocation of technical infrastructure is completed by May 15.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized the importance of completing four projects with a total length of 257.5 km

Leaders of Tuyen Quang province have pledged to finalize site clearance work, resolve embankment material issues within March, and complete the relocation of technical infrastructure by May 15.

Due to budget constraints, the provinces of Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang have requested government support of over 141.3 million USD to complete the first phase of Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway project.

Regarding two expressway projects—Dong Dang - Tra Linh expressway project in phase 1, which spans 93 km with a total investment of over 549.6 million USD, and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang expressway, covering 60 km with an investment of over 431.8 million USD—representatives from Cao Bang and Lang Son confirmed during the meeting that site clearance is mostly completed and committed to handing over all cleared land to contractors within Q1 2025.

Preparing the workforce and equipment to expedite the construction progress

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dong, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of DEOCA Group, representing the investor consortiums of the two projects, emphasized that investors and contractors are working in close coordination to support local authorities in accelerating site clearance, particularly at remaining bottlenecks along Dong Dang - Tra Linh and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang expressways.

Construction of Huu Nghi - Chi Lang project.

He emphasized construction activities are carried out with flexibility, ensuring that “workforce and machinery are deployed immediately upon site clearance”, with teams operating in "3 shifts, 4 crews" and striving to "conquer the sun, overcome the rain" to take advantage of dry weather conditions before the rainy season, particularly at critical path sections of both projects. Thereby, these efforts contribute to achieving the government’s objective of completing the expressway from Cao Bang to Ca Mau by 2025.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Dong, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of DEOCA Group spoke at the conference

Sharing the same determination, contractors of Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway affirmed their readiness to mobilize sufficient workforce and equipment for immediate deployment as soon as additional cleared land is handed over by the investor.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son recognized the determination of local authorities, project investors, and contractors in implementing key transport infrastructure projects across the region.

To ensure the completion of the remaining work volume within the next 10 months, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son instructed local authorities to expedite site clearance through various measures, facilitating timely handover to contractors. He also instructed contractors to mobilize maximum resources, machinery, and equipment, extend work shifts, and expand crews to make up for delays and ensure the route is opened by December 31, 2025.

“Provincial People's Committees should collaborate with investors to review project funding, consider investment options for rest stops, electronic toll collection (ETC) systems, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS), ensuring the quality of infrastructure upon operation”, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized.

News: Huy Vu - Photo: Tuan Linh