The North-South Expressway, which is set to cover 2,109km and extend from the northern mountainous province of Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau, is a key national transport project for the 2017-2020 period (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA)- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Ministry of Transport toexplain reports of delays to the construction of the North-SouthExpressway.
Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper on February 11 reported thatthe land clearance progress of the expressway’s eastern section had beendelayed.
The Ministry of Transport has warnedthat the whole project would be delayed if land clearance continued to lagbehind schedule.
According to the TransportProject Quality and Construction Management Department, only 166 out of 653.6kmof roads in 13 localities which the expressway’s eastern section runs throughhave been transferred to investors and the project’s management board.
Agricultural land was expected to befully transferred before the end of 2019. Localities must complete landclearance by the second quarter this year.
If local authorities do notaccelerate progress, land clearance will not be completed by the middle of thisyear, according to the department.
The newspaper also reported that thedeadline for submitting the expressway’s design looks set to be missed.
The ministry has so far approvedtechnical designs for 64 out of 401km, while the deadline to approve them allis February 20.
The ministry blamed the delay on thetime need to collect feedback from many localities.
The PM asked the Ministry ofTransport to clarify the delay.
The North-South Expressway, which isset to cover 2,109km and extend from the northern mountainous province ofLang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau, is a key nationaltransport project for the 2017-2020 period.
It is expected to improve nationalcompetitiveness and attract foreign investment, as well as create more momentumfor socio-economic development.
The expressway’s eastern section has11 sub-projects, with three financed by the State and the rest using fundingfrom the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
They have a total investment of 118.71trillion VND (5.1 billion USD).
The construction of the firstsub-project (Cam Lo-La Son) started last September. It runs through the centralprovinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue for nearly 100km and is worthsome 7.6 trillion VND.
The section is expected to becompleted by next year.
The Ministry of Transport last yearcancelled open international bidding for eight projects of theexpressway in favour of homegrown investors.
The pre-qualification round ofinvestor selection for eight PPP North-South Expressway projects will finish thismonth, according to the transport ministry. Bidding documents will be issued inApril.
The bidding to select investors willbe completed by November./.
VNA
