A section of the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway project accros Bình Chánh District, HCM CIty.(Source:vnexpres.net)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - TheMinistry of Transport has urged stronger efforts to finish land clearance forthe ongoing Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway project, which has been delayedbecause of several problems.
Deputy Minister of Transport NguyenNgoc Dong said the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway (connecting Long An provinceto Dong Nai province) was lagging behind schedule due to difficulties inland clearance compensation in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province.
For example, HCM City’s Binh Chanhdistrict has around 26 households that have not handed over their land, some ofwhich have been caused by unresolved disputes. These families account for 2 percentof the affected households.
In addition, the plan forrelocation of electricity pylons has not been completed.
Meanwhile, in Dong Nai, around116 households have not handed over their land due to compensation procedures.
Dong told the Vietnam ExpresswayCorporation, the project investor, to work with Dong Nai and HCM City to pushfor completion of land clearance and relocation of affected households so thatland can be handed over to the company in June.
According to the investor, if thecity hands over the remaining land needed for the project soon, around20km of the project (from Ben Luc to Nha Be district’s Nguyen Van Taointersection) could open for traffic in September, while the remaining partleading to Dong Nai could be completed in 2020.
However, if the land is nothanded over in June, the project will not be finished by the end of 2020, asrequested by the Ministry of Transport.
Begun in 2014, the 31 trillionVND (1.3 billion USD) project, which is 57.7km long, traverses Long An,HCM City and Dong Nai. It is expected to reduce traffic congestion between theMekong Delta and southeastern Vietnam.
The project was originallyplanned to be finished in 2018, but it was delayed until 2020. Around 70 percenthas been completed.-VNS/VNA
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