Even the most challenging projects have made progress in order to provide new roads and bridges, connecting economic sources and unleashing development potential in 2024 and the following years for the localities in this region.
The inter-district road Chư Sê-Chư Pưh-Chư Prông, Gia Lai province, is over 32 km long, like a silk strip crossing fields, forests, rivers, connecting National Highway 25, National Highway 14, through many communes and towns of Chư Pưh and Chư Sê districts to the remote communes of the border district Chư Prông. Although the newly completed road cannot be found on the map, it has facilitated the transportation of vehicles, goods, and agricultural products.
Mr. Mai Thế Chiến, from Hợp Hòa hamlet, Ia Drăng commune, Chư Prông district, said that he understands very well what “desperate hardships” means. The road used to face the risk of capital recovery due to long delays but managed to accelerate and complete it before the new year, bringing great development opportunities to the people in the area.
Inter-district road Chư Sê-Chư Puwh-Chư Prong busy with vehicles before the Lunar New Year
“We used to face many difficulties in traveling. To go from our house to Ia Gar or Ia Mer commune, we had to take different roads, dealing with dust in the sun and mud in the rain. This road, once completed and put into operation, is very convenient for farmers in terms of selling agricultural products and provides conditions for locals to buy their products at higher prices right at home,” said Mr. Mai Thế Chiến.
Along with important infrastructure projects already completed in 2023, the Central Highlands region will have many projects soon to be completed, under construction, or newly opened. One of them is a transportation route connecting Ia Mlá, Đất Bằng, Phú Cần communes with Phú Túc town, Krông Pa district, Gia Lai province. This route is over 8 km long with an investment capital of 90 billion VND. According to Mr. Hồ Văn Thảo, Chairman of Krông Pa district People’s Committee, this road has nearly completed 100% of the construction volume and will bring about significant benefits, promoting both agriculture and trade.
“This road passes through an area of more than 1,000 ha of agricultural land, so when we invested in this road, local people were very excited. Previously, to travel the entire length of this road, it took more than two and a half hours, and only motorbikes were able to travel on it. After investing in this road, the circulation of agricultural products and goods between Phú Túc, Ia M’lá, and Phú Cần will be convenient,” said Mr. Hồ Văn Thảo.
In addition to the roads connecting rural areas, urban transportation systems in the Central Highlands are also receiving significant investment. In Lâm Đồng province, besides the expanded Prenn Pass connecting Đà Lạt city with Đức Trọng district, there are nearly ten projects being implemented within Đà Lạt city. In Đăk Lăk province, the East-West Boulevard (Nguyễn Chí Thanh road) connecting Buôn Ma Thuột airport with the city center has officially entered into operation; Provincial Road 1 connecting Buôn Ma Thuột with Buôn Đôn district is being upgraded.
Prenn Pass to Đà Lạt has been expanded to double the width of the old road
Projects connecting National Highway 26 – National Highway 14 – Provincial Road 8 and the expanded Giải Phóng road in Buôn Ma Thuột city have been implemented. Plei Kần town, at the border of Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province, is also making strong transformations with the South Transit System project, with a total investment capital of over 320 billion VND.
According to Ms. Phạm Thị Thủy, a resident of the town, this transportation system not only facilitates travel for people in the southern part of the town to the central area but also opens up business opportunities and promotes the development of Plei Kần town toward becoming an urban area.
“People here are very delighted to have this road. The road is beautiful, convenient for driving, close to the central area of the town. When the town becomes an urban area, it will become even more beautiful, and business activities will be more favorable,” said Ms. Phạm Thị Thủy.
A transportation project in the suburbs of Buôn Ma Thuột is being urgently implemented
If the billion-dollar transportation projects are stimulating inter-district potential, inter-communal potential, then the trillion-dollar transportation projects are helping the Central Highlands provinces gradually form strategic economic corridors. Of particular significance among them is the Buôn Ma Thuột-Khánh Hòa expressway project, with a total investment capital of nearly 22,000 billion VND.
According to the planning until 2030, vision until 2050, this expressway will be the main transportation arterial to form one of the five economic corridors of the Central Highlands region, with priority functions being services, tourism, and cargo transportation. After being inaugurated in June 2023, the Buôn Ma Thuột-Khánh Hòa expressway has taken shape.
Mr. Đặng Thọ Dần, Deputy Head of the Transport Management Division, the Committee for Management of Transportation and Rural Agriculture Development Projects of Đắk Lắk province, said that this project is being urgently implemented: “Currently, after having the ground clearance, contractors have focused on urgently carrying out construction on internal utility roads along the line serving the construction of the project. For package 1, 100% of the construction service road has been completed. As for package 2, more than 70% has also been completed. For package 3, it has basically been opened and the contractor is currently carrying out the construction on a large scale.”
2023 was a year that all Central Highlands provinces encountered major difficulties in implementing public investment projects, but this work has been improved in the last months of the year and even more improved when transitioning to 2024, especially in terms of transportation projects. Internal transportation projects, inter-regional projects are being strongly implemented, gradually connecting the economic flows of each province, the region, and the entire Central-Middle Region, creating an additional driving force for socio-economic development.
