Long An: Proposal to invest in construction and upgrade of National Highways passing through the area

National Highway 62 is degraded and narrow.

According to Member of the Provincial Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of Long An Provincial People's Committee - Nguyen Minh Lam, National Highway N2 section through Long An province (Duc Hoa - My An) is about 77km long. This is an important traffic route of Long An province and the region, connecting many important traffic routes such as National Highway 1, National Highway 62, National Highway N1, Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway,...

However, this route currently has only 2 lanes, the quality of the roadbed and surface has degraded, the operating capacity does not meet traffic demand, many sections are damaged, often causing traffic jams and accidents.

Therefore, to ensure traffic safety, in the short term, the province recommends that the Ministry of Construction allocate funds to repair damaged sections; in the long term, it recommends that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction consider allocating investment capital to upgrade and expand to a scale of 6 lanes in the 2026-2030 period to meet traffic needs.

For National Highway N1, with a length of 235km, it is a route on the East-West axis, playing a particularly important role in ensuring security and national defense, located in the border corridor from Long An to Kien Giang, developing border gate economy associated with ensuring national defense and security according to the Mekong Delta Regional Planning approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 287/QD-TTg, dated February 28, 2022.

However, currently, only the section from Chau Doc - Ha Tien has been invested according to the plan (2-4 lanes). The remaining sections, including the section through Long An province, about 100km long, are being exploited intermittently based on the use of local roads with small scale, not meeting the requirements of socio-economic development, security and national defense.

National Highway 62 is the main route to districts in Dong Thap Muoi area and Binh Hiep International Border Gate (Kien Tuong town).

As for National Highway 62, it is the main route connecting National Highway 1 from the center of Tan An City to Binh Hiep International Border Gate (Long An), adjacent to the Cambodian border area. However, after more than 25 years of use, this route has seriously degraded, receiving petitions from voters requesting renovation and upgrading for many years. This project has also had a lot of information about starting construction but has not been implemented yet.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Lam, the investment in construction, upgrading and expansion of national highways in the area will contribute to completing the traffic network, promoting socio-economic development not only in Long An province but also in localities in the Mekong Delta region.

Recently, the Central Working Group had a working session in Long An province, according to which the representative of the Ministry of Construction said that the Ministry of Transport (formerly) had prepared a Pre-Feasibility Study Report for the Project to upgrade and renovate 3 National Highways (53, 62, 91B) in the Mekong Delta and had submitted the investment policy to the Prime Minister for approval (using WB loans). In particular, National Highway 62 through Long An province is expected to be renovated and upgraded to meet the standards of a Grade III road.

After the Prime Minister approves the investment policy, the Ministry will focus on implementing the next steps, including striving to speed up the negotiation and signing of the loan agreement by the end of 2025; it is expected to start construction of this project in early 2026 and complete it by the end of 2027.

National Highway N2 is also degraded and damaged.

Regarding National Highway N2 through Long An province, a representative of the Ministry of Construction said that this route coincides with the North-South Expressway in the West (Duc Hoa - My An section), and the functional unit is currently preparing a pre-feasibility study report. The project will be submitted to competent authorities for consideration and investment capital allocation in the period 2026 - 2030.

The representative of the Ministry of Construction also added that currently, Decree No. 165/2024/ND-CP has decentralized the management of national highways passing through the area to provinces and cities (except National Highway 1). Therefore, localities can proactively balance resources to arrange investment in construction, upgrading and expansion according to the planning, meeting the needs of socio-economic development./.

Le Duc

Source: https://baolongan.vn/long-an-kien-nghi-dau-tu-xay-dung-nang-cap-cac-tuyen-quoc-lo-qua-dia-ban-a192492.html