Expressway creates momentum for local take-off

Editor's Note:

The Eastern North-South Expressway is the most important transport corridor in the country's transport infrastructure with a length of 2,063km passing through 32 provinces and cities, connecting from Huu Nghi - Lang Son Border Gate to Ca Mau. In December 2004, the first section of the expressway from Ho Chi Minh City to Trung Luong was started. However, by early 2023, the project had only completed 1,200km of road. Implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the Government, the Ministry of Transport and localities where the expressway project passes through are focusing on construction with the goal of completing the entire North-South expressway by 2025.

The North-South Expressway component project, Nghi Son - Dien Chau section, passes through Thanh Hoa province for 6.5km and Nghe An province for 43.5km. Photo: Hoang Ha

On July 16, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang project, the longest road in the West located on the North - South expressway axis, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the participation of ministries, branches, localities, especially the Ministry of Transport in implementing expressway projects. Accordingly, project management boards and contractors have been determined and actively innovated their thinking, ways of thinking, and ways of doing things, "overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain, and overcoming the pandemic". The Prime Minister believes that with the current mobilization of sufficient resources, the entire North - South expressway will be completed by 2025 and this goal is completely feasible. The Prime Minister emphasized that the North - South expressway with large traffic capacity, high speed and safety will contribute to meeting transportation needs, creating spillover, motivation and room for socio-economic development of localities. The operation of the 160km North-South expressway through Binh Thuan province (including Phan Thiet - Dau Giay, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet) at the end of April has created a strong highlight for the whole province in general, and the tourism and transportation industries in particular. Since the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway came into operation, the number of visitors to Phan Thiet City to both travel and explore and experience the new expressway has increased significantly. According to statistics, the number of tourists to Binh Thuan in the first 6 months of 2023 reached nearly 4.5 million. In June alone, it reached nearly 830,000 visitors. Revenue from tourism activities in the first 6 months of the year reached more than 11,300 billion VND, an increase of more than 2.5 times over the same period. With the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressway, since its operation, it has shortened travel time between the Central provinces, helping to connect tourism to Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa). It can be said that this is a great opportunity for the "smokeless industry" of Binh Thuan, which owns many poetic natural landscapes, especially with strengths in sea and island tourism. Chairman of Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee Doan Anh Dung emphasized that the advantage of the two expressways helps promote promotional activities, calling for attracting investors, businesses, and large corporations to invest in the province, developing 3 economic pillars: Industry, tourism, high-tech agriculture. "In addition, the province will also successfully organize a series of events to introduce images, people, and tourism to help Binh Thuan take off in the coming time," Mr. Doan Anh Dung emphasized.

Mai Son - National Highway 45 creates momentum for socio-economic development, including tourism activities in the two localities of Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa. Photo: Hoang Ha

Dong Nai is the eastern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City, and is also one of the economic centers of the South, connecting the South Central Coast, the Central Highlands with the entire Southeast region. The Long Thanh - Dau Giay and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressways, after being put into operation, have brought about clear economic efficiency, great social benefits, and shortened travel time. At the same time, it also creates a boost for inter-regional connectivity, along with the North - South Expressway axis, opening up many investment opportunities in tourism and infrastructure to help strongly develop industry, trade, and services. In addition, these two expressways also contribute to reducing traffic pressure on National Highway 1, creating conditions to attract investment and contributing to exploiting all the potential and strengths of the locality... These are also two traffic routes of the North - South Expressway that will connect to the "super" Long Thanh airport. When the Long Thanh International Airport project is completed and put into operation, the role of the expressways will be even clearer. These two expressways not only play the role of connecting road traffic but also act as a gateway connecting the airport with the South Central and Central Highlands regions. In addition to the existing Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway, the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway, which has been put into operation for more than 2 months, also plays an important role in the development of Dong Nai as well as the key economic region in the South. Because the expressway helps shorten the journey from Ho Chi Minh City to economic and tourist centers, opening up investment opportunities in the South Central region; solving the need for passenger and cargo transportation between the central hub areas of the key economic region in the South, as well as from the North to the South. This is an important condition to attract investment and contribute to exploiting the full potential and strengths of the localities. Mr. Cao Tien Dung, when he was Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that the province has the most advantages in the Southeast region thanks to the two expressways Phan Thiet - Dau Giay and Long Thanh - Dau Giay. These are two modern expressways, connecting traffic with the key economic region of the South, connecting with Long Thanh International Airport in the future, so it will create great development opportunities for Dong Nai.

Highway through Dong Nai province. Photo: Hoang Anh

Mr. Nguyen Van Vu (residing in My Hoi commune, Cao Lanh district, Dong Thap province) shared that people always want the roads connecting Dong Thap province with other localities in the Mekong Delta to be more numerous, spacious, and more convenient.

“With new roads, agricultural products from Dong Thap and other provinces will travel further, and there will be more opportunities for us to travel, exchange, trade, and engage in cultural exchange within the region and with Ho Chi Minh City. The continuous construction of highways is a joy for the people of the West,” said Mr. Vu.

Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh stated that the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project through the province is a project belonging to the group of important national projects, of inter-regional nature, having a great impact on the socio-economic development goals, ensuring national defense and security in the Mekong Delta region in general and An Giang province in particular. The project also contributes significantly to the goal of developing synchronous transport infrastructure.

According to experts, the expressways that have been and are being deployed in the Mekong Delta will activate satellite cities, expand the space for industrial and logistics development, and shorten the time for transporting goods between localities. From there, the appearance of the whole region will change, creating momentum for the region to promote its potential, develop its socio-economy, and become a dynamic and effective economic center in the country.

Authors: Ngo Huyen, Hoang Anh, Hoai Thanh, Nhu Sy

Design: Pham Luyen

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