$335 million Cam Lo-La Son Expressway set to open in November

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has asked localities, investors and contractors to accelerate the remaining work to ensure the schedule.

According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Road Project Management Board, the work is nearly 95 per cent complete and the final touches are being made to ensure the road opens to traffic by the end of October.

The section was designed with two lanes of 12m in width to run for 98km for the first phase, allowing a maximum travel speed of 80km per hour.

Cam Lo-La Son Expressway runs more than 98km between Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces in central Vietnam.

Construction kicked off in September 2019. With the total investment capital of VND7.7 trillion ($334.78 million), the section was designed with two lanes of 12m in width to run for 98km for the first phase, allowing a maximum travel speed of 80km per hour.

In the next phase, from 2030-2040, the section will be expanded to 4-6 lanes. The project is divided into 28 packages, of which 11 are civil works.

Along with Cam Lo-La Son, the other sections of the North-South Expressway - Mai Son-National Highway No.45, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet, and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay expressways - are to be completed by the end of this year.

Speaking at a launch ceremony “Taking 120 days and nights to implement four construction projects of Mai Son-National Highway No.45, Cam Lo-La Son, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay” on September 9, DPM Thanh said that localities must concentrate on solving existing problems in implementing site clearance work and moving technical infrastructures affected by the projects.

The government on February 24 signed a decision to set up the Government Steering Committee to quicken the implementation of the Eastern Cluster of the North-South Expressway and Long Thanh International Airport.

The east and west economic corridors of Vietnam will become the strategic backbone for the decade’s national master plan in order to revitalise spatial development, lure more investment resources, and enable breakthrough growth.

Vingroup and Techcombank have expressed their interest in developing Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh Expressway. As part of the North-South Expressway, this section will connect Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc provinces.

A proposal has been sent to the Ministry of Transport asking for evaluation of a feasibility report on the construction of the Can Tho – Hau Giang section as part of the eastern route of the North-South Expressway.

Contractors for the North-South Expressway are looking for support from the government as global price increases continue to hinder key public investment projects.