Removing infrastructure bottlenecks for the Southeast region to achieve double-digit growth

That is the goal the Prime Minister set for the Southeast region in socio-economic development at the 5th Conference of the Regional Coordination Council on the afternoon of December 2.

Attracting high investment capital but growth lower than national average

On the afternoon of December 2, in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the Southeast Regional Coordination Council, chaired the 5th Conference of the Regional Coordination Council. The main content this time was the target and task of double-digit growth in the period of 2025 - 2030 along with opportunities, challenges and solutions.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the conference.

In his opening speech at the conference, the Prime Minister suggested a number of issues for discussion and asked ministries, branches and localities to review the contents of the 4th conference to draw lessons.

The Prime Minister requested that all levels, sectors and localities must have innovative and breakthrough thinking with high determination, great efforts, drastic, flexible and effective actions in the spirit of "dare to think, dare to do, dare to break through for the common good".

At the conference, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said that in 2024, the economic growth of the Southeast region is estimated to reach 6.38%, lower than the national average (6.8-7%) and ranked 4th out of 6 economic regions. However, the Southeast region continues to lead the country in the number of projects and total foreign direct investment. As of October 31, it has attracted 21,174 projects and more than 189 billion USD in investment.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment also pointed out some limitations of the region such as slow implementation of major projects; traffic congestion and flooding are still challenges. Disbursement of public investment has not met the required progress. Industry is one of the three important pillars of the region but its development is unsustainable, its added value is low, its allocation is unreasonable, and it depends heavily on foreign invested enterprises.

Overview of the 5th Southeast Regional Conference.

Long Thanh Airport has accelerated construction, but the infrastructure connecting Long Thanh Airport and the seaport is still slow, and a diverse logistics ecosystem has not yet been formed. Project implementation is still facing difficulties, especially with the source of sand and earth materials. Land allocation is also slow, affecting the overall progress of the projects.

Long Thanh Airport is identified as the new growth pole of the Southeast region.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, proposed that the Prime Minister and ministries and branches continue to have mechanisms and policies to support localities. In particular, the Bien Hoa - Cai Mep railway line should be built soon in the period of 2026-2030.

He also proposed supporting the locality to soon complete the research project and form a free trade zone associated with the seaport in Cai Mep Ha area; to form and develop a renewable energy center and an offshore wind power center according to the Prime Minister's direction.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, wishes to synchronously upgrade the traffic infrastructure connecting to the seaport and Long Thanh airport.

Also at the conference, Mr. Vo Tan Duc, Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, presented that the locality has made efforts to propose solutions for allocating investment in transport infrastructure, but resources are still limited. Moreover, due to implementing many inter-regional projects at the same time, balancing the budget is difficult. He said that the locality is currently focusing on building Ring Road 4, proactively moving some intra-provincial projects to be implemented later.

Mr. Vo Tan Duc, Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, said that resources will be focused on Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4.

Localities need material support for projects

At the conference, Minister of Transport Tran Hong Minh acknowledged that in the Southeast region, Long Thanh airport is currently considered a major construction site. "This is also considered the center of inter-regional transport projects," he said.

Accordingly, Long Thanh airport is adjacent to National Highway 1, Long Thanh - Dau Giay - Phan Thiet - Nha Trang expressway; in 2026, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway will be put into operation, synchronously connecting with the airport. Dau Giay - Tan Phu and Tan Phu - Lien Khuong expressways are also completing related procedures, investing in the form of PPP to start construction in 2025.

The Minister of Transport said that currently, the transport infrastructure connecting intra-regional and inter-regional to Long Thanh airport is receiving attention.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 is being implemented and will be completed in 2025; Ring Road 4 is also completing procedures for construction before 2030.

The biggest problem, according to the Minister, is the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway, which currently has only two lanes in each direction, making it overloaded and difficult to meet the needs of passenger and cargo transportation when Long Thanh airport comes into operation. The project is being planned for investment, with the total investment for the 21km section from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh being about 15,000 billion VND. He said that the units are currently coordinating to remove obstacles to soon implement the project.

Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway has many sections in shape.

Regarding other infrastructure systems in the region, Minister Tran Hong Minh also acknowledged that Can Gio port plays an important role. The Ministry of Transport has worked with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on related issues to implement the project.

In addition, urban railway lines, North-South high-speed railway connecting to Ho Chi Minh City, Long Thanh airport... are also being studied and implemented. For the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway line alone, the Ministry of Transport has assigned the research to prepare a pre-feasibility study report. The total investment for phase 1 is about 83,000 billion VND, phase 2 is about 60,000 billion VND.

The Minister of Transport also asked localities to focus on mechanisms and policies to facilitate projects, land conversion and planning... He asked localities to support materials because currently the procedures have many steps, so the progress of many projects under construction is affected.

The Prime Minister set a target of double-digit growth for the Southeast region and institutional breakthroughs.

Reviewing transportation projects connecting to airports, seaports...

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh praised the efforts of 6 provinces and cities in the Southeast region, despite many difficulties, the economy is still growing. However, the growth trend is slowing down and the Prime Minister identified: one of the reasons is the bottleneck in infrastructure, connecting traffic, including seaports that are not synchronized.

The Prime Minister requested that provinces focus on directing and implementing well the goals and plans set out in 2024. At the same time, in 2025, priority must still be given to economic growth, striving for double-digit growth.

Regarding project investment, the Prime Minister requested to separate the GPMB project from the investment project for more convenient implementation. During the GPMB and resettlement process, if the capital of this project is surplus, it can be allocated to other projects. Localities need to have timely proposals to remove obstacles.

In economic development, focus on developing green economy, sustainable economy, global economy. Try to train high-quality human resources for industries, especially emerging industries.

Regarding Ring Road 4, the Prime Minister said that the Government has assigned Ho Chi Minh City as the managing agency, and that additional policy mechanisms such as issuing bonds and mobilizing resources are needed. In the first quarter of 2025, the project will be approved and submitted to the National Assembly for related contents and mechanisms.

Regarding Can Gio port, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to "complete procedures soon in December to submit for final resolution".

Regarding the Long Thanh airport project, which will be completed and put into operation in 2026, the Prime Minister requested localities to promptly review connecting traffic projects for investment, ensuring that when the airport comes into operation, it will be effective.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/go-diem-nghen-ha-tang-de-vung-dong-nam-bo-tang-truong-hai-con-so-192241202152149736.htm