Will build highways 'to the standards of modern countries'

Sharing at the discussion session at the National Assembly on the afternoon of October 27, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang said that the Prime Minister is assigning the Ministry of Transport to develop regulations and standards for Vietnam's expressways.

Bộ trưởng GTVT: Sẽ xây dựng cao tốc 'chuẩn như các nước hiện đại' - Ảnh 1. — Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang

This is an extremely important standard, but currently Vietnam does not have it; it will clearly stipulate standards for rest stops on highways.

"The Ministry of Transport has planned rest stops on highways and implemented them in a relatively systematic manner; at the same time, applied models combining rest stops, gas stations, shopping, and dining in a synchronous manner," Mr. Thang said.

According to the leader of the Ministry of Transport, rest stops on the North-South expressways are planned in pairs (on both sides of the road), ensuring safety for traffic participants.

In addition, all expressways will apply information technology in management to handle arising problems as well as maintenance, ensuring that Vietnamese expressways meet international standards.

"As it is now, frankly admitting to the delegates that it has not met the requirements. In the future, if the number of highways increases, with the current management method without information technology, it will not meet the requirements," said the Minister of Transport.

However, according to Mr. Thang, these issues all require time. In particular, the problem of completing the planned expressway system has not been achieved due to limited budget. This is the reason why many expressways are currently planned, but there are some expressways and sections that do not meet the scale requirements (2-lane expressways).

"On the part of the Ministry of Transport, we will also try to build an expressway that meets the standards of modern countries," Minister Thang emphasized.

At the discussion session, delegate Nguyen Van Canh (Binh Dinh delegation) also expressed concern that many expressways have been put into operation but do not have rest stops. He also cited the rest stop model of countries like South Korea, which is built by the State and private sector.

In particular, the rest stop built by the private sector includes shopping, souvenir, dining and resting areas; at the same time, promoting local culture, creating an effective business area. Delegate Canh proposed that the Ministry of Transport refer to and implement it in current expressway projects.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Security sent a document to the Ministry of Transport stating that, through a survey of all expressways and the La Son - Cam Lo section currently in operation, it discovered that 7 expressway sections and routes have not met highway safety standards since their construction, operation and use.

Bộ trưởng GTVT: Sẽ xây dựng cao tốc 'chuẩn như các nước hiện đại' - Ảnh 2. — Many newly built highways do not have rest stops like Phan Thiet - Dau Giay.

Specifically, there is no hard median strip, no emergency lane or if there is one, it does not meet the standard width; no night lighting system, limited visibility... On some routes, there have been many particularly serious traffic accidents and many other collisions, especially on some newly put into operation routes.

The Cao Bo - Mai Son, Mai Son - National Highway 45, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, Nha Trang - Cam Lam, Trung Luong - My Thuan expressways have 4 lanes, with median strips, but there is no emergency lane on the route, and an emergency stop is arranged every 4 - 5 km.

After a long period of operation and toll collection (since 2014), despite the high traffic volume and potential safety risks, the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section has not yet invested in expanding to 4 - 6 lanes as approved.

The Ministry of Public Security also assessed that the traffic organization on the routes still has many shortcomings and is unreasonable. Specifically, there is a lack of people on duty at checkpoints, the fence system has many locations that are not closed, so people can still walk, ride motorbikes, and three-wheelers onto the highway, and livestock can also travel on the highway, such as the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen, Hanoi - Lao Cai, Trung Luong - My Thuan, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet - Dau Giay routes.

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