Investing 389 million USD to upgrade 3 key national highways in the Mekong Delta

National Highway 53, National Highway 62 and National Highway 91B will be upgraded and renovated to meet the standards of a grade III plain road, with a design speed of 80 km/h using WB loans.

A section of National Highway 53 through Tra Vinh.

The Ministry of Transport has just issued Document No. 3089/TTr - BGTVT requesting the Prime Minister to consider approving the investment policy for the Project to upgrade and renovate 3 national highways (53, 62, 91B) in the Mekong Delta, using loans from the World Bank (WB).

This report was issued by the Ministry of Transport after receiving the appraisal opinions of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on the Pre-Feasibility Study Report of the Project to upgrade and renovate 3 national highways in the Mekong Delta.

Specifically, the sections of National Highway 53 included in the Project include: Nga Tu Bridge (expected from Km7+820 to Km8+730); Long Ho - Ba Si section, starting point at Km11+295, expected end point at Km56+180. The investment length is about 41 km, in Vinh Long and Tra Vinh provinces, upgraded and renovated to meet the standards of a grade III plain road, design speed of 80km/h, cross-section of the roadbed is 12m wide, road surface is 11m wide, including 2 lanes for motor vehicles 2x3.50m wide, 2 lanes for rudimentary vehicles 2x2 m wide and the sidewalk is 2x0.50m wide.

For National Highway 62, the Project scope has the starting point at Km4+200 (intersection with Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway), the expected end point at Km74, with an investment length of about 69km located entirely in Long An province.

The route has been upgraded and renovated to meet the standards of a grade III plain road, with a design speed of 80km/h, a cross-section of the roadbed width of 12m, a road surface width of 11m, including 2 lanes for motor vehicles 2x3.50m wide, 2 lanes for rudimentary vehicles 2x2m wide and a sidewalk 2x0.50m wide; upgrading and renovating the road surface for some sections through urban areas has ensured the road surface width.

For National Highway 91B, the Project scope has the expected starting point at Km2+604 (Can Tho Bridge 5-way intersection), the expected ending point at Km143+480. The investment length is about 141 km located in Can Tho City and the provinces of Hau Giang, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu.

The upgraded and renovated road meets the standards of a grade III plain road, with a design speed of 80km/h, a cross-section of the roadbed width of 12m, a road surface width of 11m including 2 lanes for motor vehicles 2x3.50m wide, 2 lanes for rudimentary vehicles 2x2m wide and a sidewalk 2x0.50m wide; upgrading and renovating the road surface for some sections through urban areas has ensured the road surface width.

The Project implementation period is 4 years from the time the project is allocated capital by the competent authority (expected from 2024 - 2027).

The preliminary total investment of the Project is about 9,297.12 billion VND, equivalent to about 389.39 million USD, of which the investment cost to upgrade National Highway 53 is 2,601 billion VND; National Highway 62 is 3,241.8 billion VND and National Highway 91B is 3,454 billion VND.

The project will borrow capital from the World Bank of about 267.44 million USD (equivalent to about 6,385.41 billion VND) used for the following items: construction and equipment costs before tax; construction supervision consulting costs and some consulting services according to the World Bank's policy before tax; contingency costs for the above items.

Counterpart capital worth about VND 2,911.71 billion (equivalent to about USD 121.95 million) is used for the following items: project management costs, remaining construction investment consultancy, other costs; site clearance costs; taxes, fees; contingency costs for the above items.

According to the Ministry of Transport, National Highways 52, 62 and 91B are located in different areas, so each national highway can be put into operation independently after being upgraded, regardless of the progress of the remaining national highways.

Therefore, to facilitate the implementation process and put it into operation soon, the Ministry of Transport proposes to divide the Project into 3 component projects including: Component Project 1: Upgrading and renovating National Highway 53; Component Project 2: Upgrading and renovating National Highway 62; Component Project 3: Upgrading and renovating National Highway 91B.

The Ministry of Transport said that the Pre-Feasibility Study Report basically maintains the scope, scale, and route as the approved Project Proposal. However, the preliminary total investment increased by about VND 2,139.06 billion compared to the project proposal approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 646/QD-TTg dated June 7, 2023.

The main reasons for the increase in total investment are the increase in construction costs (increased by VND 956.34 billion) and the increase in site clearance costs (increased by VND 840.89 billion).

Specifically, in the project proposal step, construction costs are calculated according to the investment capital rate announced by the Ministry of Construction in Decision No. 65/QD-BXD dated January 20, 2021. In the Pre-Feasibility Study Report step, construction costs are calculated according to the preliminary design volume and current unit prices of materials, labor, and machinery.

In addition, in the project proposal step, the site clearance cost is calculated according to the land price framework of localities at the time of 2021. In the Pre-Feasibility Study Report step, the site clearance cost is calculated based on the decisions on land unit prices, related items newly issued by the locality and the documents recommending unit prices applicable to the Project of the locality.

It is known that after completion, the Project will gradually complete the road traffic network connecting the provinces and cities of Long An, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Hau Giang, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu, contributing to promoting socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security in the Mekong Delta region.

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