Deadline for completion of 2 key connecting routes in the South

According to the reporter, the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway project is under construction at the intersection with the Bac Tan Uyen - Phu Giao - Bau Bang power generating road. The construction site is rubber forest land under the management of Phuoc Hoa Rubber Company. After receiving the handover of nearly 10 km, the contractor has mobilized hundreds of machines and human resources for construction. This is the first formed section of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway, with a total length of more than 52 km.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway is under construction for a nearly 10 km section in the middle of a rubber forest.

The total investment capital of this expressway project is more than 17,000 billion VND, of which 8,833 billion VND is for construction costs, the rest is for compensation for site clearance and other costs. The total land area to be recovered for project construction is about 344 hectares with 1,616 affected households.

This expressway project started in February, but due to difficulties in site clearance, construction progress was affected. In 2024, only over VND8.6 billion was disbursed; this year, over VND1,663 billion was disbursed.

The reason for the slow site clearance work given by localities and units is that the implementation of a two-level local government system means that tasks that previously belonged to the district level are now transferred to the commune level, causing some delays.

Currently, the authorities of Ho Chi Minh City are coordinating to speed up the progress of compensation, clearance, and handover of land to the construction contractor. According to the plan, the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway will be completed in September 2027.

Location of Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway at the intersection with the Bac Tan Uyen - Phu Giao - Bau Bang dynamic road.

To keep the project on schedule, the HCMC People's Committee has required staff of relevant departments and units to have a daily and monthly plan of what to do, and work overtime to make up for the time spent focusing on operating the two-level government.

The Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City has just reported to the Vietnam Road Administration on the implementation status of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway project (section through Ho Chi Minh City). According to the Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City, the source of earth filling materials in the city is currently scarce due to the simultaneous implementation of many other projects.

The Ho Chi Minh Road project, Chon Thanh - Duc Hoa section passing through Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh, has a length of 72.75 km, divided into 3 construction packages with a total investment of about 2,293 billion VND.

Ho Chi Minh Road is built according to technical standards equivalent to a level III plain road, the stage of completing the scale of a 6-lane highway. Currently, the asphalt concrete paving has almost completed the entire route.

The 31.5 km Ho Chi Minh Road section through Ho Chi Minh City was scheduled to open to traffic on April 30, 2025, but site clearance issues led to a delay. The project is part of the main route, mainly focusing on the Chon Thanh - Duc Hoa section, which was restarted at the end of 2023 and is being accelerated to complete by the end of 2025.

Ho Chi Minh Road section in Ho Chi Minh City

This route passes through Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, connecting with other important traffic axes, contributing to creating economic development momentum for the key economic region in the South.

The contractor representative said that the delay in handing over the site has greatly affected the construction progress and the project completion plan. If the locality does not handle the situation thoroughly, it will be very difficult for the contractor to complete the task as committed.