Progress of important projects, linking the Northern Midlands and Mountains region

Speaking at the third meeting of the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region Coordination Council, which took place this morning (May 24), Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung provided information on a number of important regional linkage projects.

Specifically, the entire Region has completed 3 projects (Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho Expressway connecting with Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway, Upgrading Dien Bien Airport, Doan Hung - Phu Tho route), and is implementing 15 projects out of a total of 33 key projects of the Region (such as Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang Expressway; Dong Dang - Tra Linh Expressway, Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway; Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway (Son La)...).

The remaining 15 projects in the Action Program are being studied by ministries, branches and localities for implementation in the coming time.

In recent times, the Prime Minister has prioritized allocating investment resources for large-scale expressway projects in the Region, contributing to changing the face of the Region's infrastructure. Specifically, a number of projects have been completed and are being actively implemented.

Regarding the Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho Expressway Construction Investment Project connecting with Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that the project has been basically completed and put into operation on December 24, 2023. The capacity will increase by about 40 km of expressway with a scale of 4 lanes, thereby connecting with Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang Expressway.

At the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang Expressway Project, phase 1, construction started in May 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025.

The project is 104 km long, with a limited investment scale of 2 lanes, site clearance with a scale of 4 lanes, with a total investment of phase 1 of more than 9,000 billion VND (of which the central budget supports more than 5,600 billion VND).

Currently, the two localities are reviewing and proposing a plan to expand to a complete 4-lane scale, and extend from Bac Quang to Ha Giang City.

The third meeting of the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region Coordination Council. (Photo: Duc Trung)

An important project also mentioned by Minister Nguyen Chi Dung is the investment project to build the Dong Dang (Lang Son province) - Tra Linh (Cao Bang province) expressway under the BOT form.

The project has a total route length of 121 km, phase 1 investment of about 93 km. The project started on January 1, 2024 and is expected to complete phase 1 in 2025.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that the project is facing some difficulties, specifically the land use target in Lang Son province, by 2025 it is necessary to increase 188 hectares of traffic land; the procedure for converting forest use purposes takes a lot of time. In addition, due to difficulties in mobilizing capital from investors, the project is adjusting the investment policy to increase the state budget's participation capital by 3,220 billion VND.

The Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh - Moc Chau (Son La) Expressway Project consists of 4 sections, under implementation.

(1) Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh route is 23 km long: Currently, Hoa Binh province is planning a project to expand the scale to 6 lanes and implement it under the BOT form.

(2) Route connecting Hoa Binh City - Da Bac Region (km0-km19): Hoa Binh province is reviewing the proposal to adjust the route and implement it according to the expressway scale.

(3) Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway: (km19-53) section in Hoa Binh province, 34 km long, has not yet selected an investor and has not yet started construction.

(4) Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway: the section in Son La province is 32.3 km long, and has been approved by the National Assembly for pilot application with Son La province as the managing agency; currently, the province has completed investment procedures and is expected to start construction after the National Assembly supplements capital for the medium-term plan for the period 2021 - 2025.

"Thus, the entire Project has not yet started construction and is behind schedule compared to the approved schedule," said Mr. Dung.

At the Sa Pa airport construction investment project in Lao Cai province under the BOT form, the first phase of site clearance has been completed but the investor has not been selected yet. Lao Cai province is adjusting the investment policy to increase state budget capital participating in the project.

It is known that the project has a scale of level 4C, capacity of 1.5 million passengers/year; total investment capital is 4,208 billion VND, of which state budget capital is 2,103 billion VND.

In addition, ministries and branches are studying investment plans for a number of projects: (i) The route connecting Ha Giang with the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway; (ii) Doan Hung - Cho Ben route; (iii) Phase 2 of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway; (iv) Bac Kan - Cao Bang expressway; (v) Son La - Dien Bien - Tay Trang international border gate expressway. (vi) Researching investment in the electrified railway route Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong...; At the same time, localities are reviewing and developing plans to increase the scale of expressways to 4 complete lanes, adding connecting routes and intersections to promote the effectiveness of expressways in the area.

The head of the planning and investment sector called on localities to urgently remove difficulties and obstacles, complete necessary procedures to soon start projects, and focus resources to speed up the implementation of projects that have started.

For projects that are being prepared for investment or researched for implementation, integrate them into the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026 - 2030; research and propose specific mechanisms and policies for early implementation, and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tien-do-cac-du-an-quan-trong-lien-ket-vung-trung-du-va-mien-nui-phia-bac-d215936.html