More than 41,000 billion to upgrade national highways and build the East-West expressway in Dak Lak province

Vice Chairman of Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee Truong Cong Thai said that the province is proposing to invest more than VND41,000 billion to upgrade National Highway 29 and build the East-West expressway to connect inter-regional strategic infrastructure after the merger.

Specifically, National Highway 29, connecting Phu Yen to the administrative center of Dak Lak province, has been agreed to be included in the medium-term public investment plan for the 2026-2030 period, with a total estimated capital of about VND11,000 billion.

If approved, the project will start construction in 2026. This route is expected to become a vital traffic axis, contributing to completing the "forest - sea" connection system in the Central Highlands and South Central Coast.

The East and West of Dak Lak province are connected by National Highway 29.

At the same time, Dak Lak is also promoting the East-West Expressway Project, Phase 1 (section from the North-South Expressway in the East to National Highway 14 - Ho Chi Minh Road), with a length of about 122km, a scale of 4 lanes, and a roadbed width of 17.5m. It is expected that this expressway will be implemented in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), with a total investment of more than 30,000 billion VND.

The Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee has developed three financial options to implement the East-West Expressway project. After considering factors of investment efficiency and resource mobilization, the Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee has agreed to choose the option that the state will guarantee 60% of the capital and the investor will account for 40%.

Currently, the Provincial People's Committee is completing the dossier and reporting to relevant ministries and branches to submit to the Prime Minister for approval. If approved, the province will coordinate with the investor to carry out the next procedures.

Previously, Tien Phong reported that the current National Highway 29 was upgraded from the old provincial and district roads of Phu Yen and Dak Lak (before the merger), according to the decisions of the Ministry of Transport in 2011, 2014 and 2015. This route plays a particularly important role in the regional transport development strategy, being the axis connecting the North-South expressways and dry ports located on the national transport corridor.

However, currently, National Highway 29 has not met the increasing transportation demand, especially after the province's merger. Except for the completed section from Km186+126 to Km226+000, most of the remaining sections have narrow road surfaces, weak technical structures, and are degraded, mainly damaged asphalt concrete surfaces, greatly affecting traffic circulation and safety.

Traffic volume, especially from the Eastern region (old Phu Yen) to the new Dak Lak administrative center, is increasing rapidly. The upgrading of National Highway 29 combined with investment in the East-West Expressway is expected to create a breakthrough in traffic infrastructure, serving socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security and attracting investment for the entire region.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hon-41000-ty-nang-cap-quoc-lo-xay-cao-toc-dong-tay-tinh-dak-lak-post1779109.tpo