Vietnam Minister Urges Swift Land Handover for Expressway Expansion

Minister of Construction Trần Hồng Minh has stressed the urgent need for land handover to facilitate the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway. During a site visit on June 14, Minh emphasized that resolving land acquisition issues is crucial for maintaining the project's timeline.

The 90-kilometer expressway expansion project boasts a total investment of over 36.1 trillion dong ($1.4 billion) and is entirely funded by private capital, with the Đèo Cả Group representing the consortium of investors. Currently, the project is progressing with 64 construction sites and the mobilization of approximately 1,100 personnel and over 400 pieces of machinery. While construction value has reached over 6%, the developers aim to complete the project six months ahead of schedule.

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167 billion dong is a very large number, enough to build a university or several more kilometers of road.

However, progress is being hampered by ongoing land clearance and the availability of construction materials. Approximately 117 hectares of land still need to be handed over, with over 20 hectares directly impacting the main expressway construction. Minister Minh praised the investors and contractors for overcoming difficulties but urged decisive action from local authorities to expedite land handover. He also highlighted the importance of proactive material sourcing and the application of digital technology, including Building Information Modeling (BIM), which has already shown potential savings of 167 billion dong ($6.5 million). Minh called for incorporating digital technology criteria in future bidding processes to prioritize contractors with proven capabilities.

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The land handover is the key factor that must be resolved definitively so as not to affect the overall progress target of the project.