The 99km-long expressway connecting Dong Nai and Binh Thuan provinces is at risk of having no maintenance or rescue units from April 28 because the management company no longer has the resources to maintain it.
At a meeting with Vietnam Expressway Engineering Services Joint Stock Company (VEC E) on April 19, the Thang Long Project Management Board (investor, under the Ministry of Transport) said that it had sent a written report to the competent authority about the source of funding to pay this unit, but had not received a response so there was not enough basis for payment.
The two sides agreed that the Thang Long Project Management Board will continue to report to the Ministry of Transport on the funding source to pay VEC E. If by April 28, this funding source is still not determined, VEC E will temporarily stop managing, operating, and maintaining the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway.
Traffic jam on Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway, from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Thuan, on the occasion of September 2, 2023. Photo: Phuoc Tuan
Over the past year, the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway has been put into temporary operation and managed by VEC E. This unit has been operating and exploiting the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay route for nearly 10 years, so it was assigned to manage the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway section until an official unit is selected to take over. However, because the payment cost has not been determined, VEC E has not yet been paid by the Thang Long Project Management Board.
Meanwhile, VEC E said that after nearly a year of operation, the operating and maintenance costs of the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway were more than 10 billion VND. The route has served more than 5.3 million cars, an average of 17,000 cars per day. During holidays and Tet, the number of cars increases, reaching 37,600 cars per day. This unit has handled nearly 1,000 incidents on the route, including nearly 100 traffic accidents, 9 fires in the expressway safety corridor; rescued nearly 400 damaged vehicles and handled 500 cases of vehicles not allowed to enter the expressway.
According to VEC E, the source of funding has not yet been determined, so the unit is having difficulty ensuring salaries and insurance policies for workers on the line. In addition, there are electricity bills for lighting, machinery, equipment, etc. If this problem is not resolved quickly, the company will not have enough funding to maintain.
Route of Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway. Graphics: Thanh Huyen
Responding to VnExpress , a representative of the Ministry of Transport said that the agency has noted the above problem and is directing the Thang Long Project Management Board, the Department of Construction Investment Management (TCI), and related units to urgently resolve it.
"There will be no way the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway will not have anyone to manage and operate it, especially with the upcoming April 30 and May 1 holidays when travel demand is very high," said a representative of the Ministry of Transport.
Dau Giay - Phan Thiet is a section of the North - South Eastern Expressway, with a total investment of more than 12,500 billion VND. The route starts at the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway in Ham Thuan Nam District, Binh Thuan Province; and ends at the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway interchange in Dong Nai Province. After being put into operation at the end of April last year, the project has helped cars from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet take more than 2 hours, instead of 4-5 hours as before.
Gia Minh
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