On March 2nd, at the regular Government press conference, reporters asked the representative of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) about the progress of upgrading segmented expressways, especially the 2-lane expressways.
In response, Deputy Minister of MoT, Nguyen Duy Lam, said that they have directed the relevant agencies to urgently review and improve the infrastructure structure, traffic management plans to enhance safety for 4-lane restricted segmented expressways without hard separators and emergency stopping lanes. They will also review the traffic speed on the safest routes, coordinate with the Traffic Police and local police to review and handle violations strictly.
MoT instructed to expand and upgrade the 2-lane expressways.
Regarding the Prime Minister’s urgent directive to establish national standards for expressways, MoT leaders said that they have completed the draft standards and are currently submitting them to the Ministry of Science and Technology for comments. The standards are expected to be issued in March.
In particular, MoT has directed the expansion and upgrade of segmented expressways that have been invested in, and requested project management boards to urgently submit reports to MoT. “There are currently 5 2-lane segmented expressways that will be prioritized for completion, and then upgraded to 4-lane restricted routes,” said Mr. Lam.
As for the La Son – Hoa Lien expressway, Mr. Lam said that MoT has reported and balanced the allocation of funds from the central budget. “MoT strives to start the expansion project at the end of this year and complete it in 2025 – 2026,” Mr. Lam said.
For the Hoa Lac – Hoa Binh expressway, the Prime Minister has assigned Hoa Binh Provincial People’s Committee as the project owner, to invest in the form of BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer). Hoa Binh province has already approved the investor to expand the project.
The Yen Bai – Lao Cai route belongs to the Noi Bai – Lao Cai expressway, which is invested and managed by Vietnam Expressway Corporation. The route has a plan to expand to 4 lanes.
The Thai Nguyen – Cho Moi and Cam Lo – La Son routes are currently being urgently requested by MoT to submit reports and propose capital plans.
“For the 4-lane restricted segmented routes without emergency stopping lanes, MoT will continue to review and allocate funds based on reports from competent authorities, and complete the projects in the near future,” said Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Lam.
