The slow relocation in localities with projects passing through, the lack of sand and soil materials for road foundations, and the time needed for settlement monitoring are significantly impacting the project’s construction progress.
Video: Construction site of the Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway
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The Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway, which commenced on January 1, 2023, spans over 110 km, passing through 5 provinces and cities: Cần Thơ, Hậu Giang, Bạc Liêu, Kiên Giang, and Cà Mau. The project starts at IC2 intersection (intersection with National Road 91 – Nam Sông Hậu, Cần Thơ City) and ends at the bypass of Cà Mau City. The expressway has a total investment capital of over 27.5 trillion VND, divided into 2 component projects: Cần Thơ – Hậu Giang (37 km) and Hậu Giang – Cà Mau (73 km).
Currently, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions, the investor, contractors, and construction units are maintaining nearly 130 construction sites, mobilizing over 400 types of machinery and equipment and about 800 engineers, consultants, supervisors, workers, and laborers throughout the project route, working in 3 shifts to ensure the progress.
The Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway at Cái Răng District interchange (Cần Thơ City).
At the project site in Cần Thơ City, due to land clearance issues, the contractors are focusing on the construction of bridge foundations to ensure the progress.
Construction of the Thạnh Đông Bridge on the expressway.
Construction of the QL61 Km37+942 – Km38+336 viaduct on the expressway.
Construction of the QL1 Km24+639 viaduct on the expressway.
Construction of the Đường Gỗ Bridge on the expressway.
Mr. Nguyễn Thành Lộc (Director of the Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board, in charge of the Cần Thơ – Hậu Giang Project) stated that as of the beginning of March 2024, the project has achieved an overall progress of 22.88% according to the contract.
The biggest obstacle of the project at present is land clearance. Localities have handed over 110.25 out of 110.85 km of land (accounting for 99.46%) and cleared the conditions for construction for 107.95 out of 110.85 km of the expressway (reaching 97.4%).
Specifically, there are 2 km of land in Kiên Giang province that have not been acquired for construction due to 22 households’ complaint about compensation prices. Besides, there are still 22 positions of high-voltage power lines, fiber optic cables, water lines… passing through provinces that have not been relocated.
As observed at the project, the expressway has excavated road foundations for 91.6 out of 97.7 km, reaching 94%. Out of the total of 126 bridges on the route, the project has started the construction of 93 out of 117 bridges, reaching 79%, mainly including concrete pouring for bridge foundations/caps/piles, piers, and bridge surface completion…
In terms of material supply for the project, the demand until October 2024 is approximately 10.7 million cubic meters of sand. So far, the project has completed the exploitation procedures for an estimated 9 million cubic meters of sand, of which about 2.4 million cubic meters have been extracted. Currently, localities have not yet determined sufficient sources of sand (except Đồng Tháp province) and the exploitation capacity, and the supply does not meet the demand. The investor is coordinating with localities to prioritize material support for the project as directed by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Transport.
Construction of the Bến Bạ Bridge on the expressway.
Construction of the Ba Dầu Bridge on the expressway.
The excavated section of the expressway.
Construction of bridge foundations, piers, and bridge abutments on land sections of the expressway.
The total demand for sand for the entire project is over 18 million cubic meters, with a target of 9.1 million cubic meters in 2023. However, localities have only planned to supply about 3 million cubic meters of sand…
The embankment of the expressway has been filled with sand and geotextile (a material used to reinforce weak soil and stabilize the road foundation).
In light of the reality, the Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board is demanding that the contractors maximize the mobilization of machinery, equipment, and personnel according to the plan, meeting the construction progress and compensating for the delayed volume compared to the plan. They are also increasing the deployment of machinery and equipment to immediately carry out the construction of completed bridges, temporary bridges, and access roads; urgently implementing geotextile installation at positions with settled sand. At the same time, suggestions are made for localities to apply special mechanisms, promptly complete the procedures for material mines, and prioritize material supply for settlement monitoring areas. The extraction is expected to start in March 2024.
Regarding the land clearance work, the investor and the contractors are urgently working with localities to resolve difficulties and hand over cleared land to the construction units in March 2024. For contractors with slow progress, no progress, or no solutions to meet the progress as specified in the contract, the investor will prepare plans for replacement if the issues are not resolved…
The roundabout structure of the IC4 intersection on the expressway.
The new access road has been completed.
The lack of sand material for road foundations on the expressway is significantly impacting the construction progress.
Many sections of the expressway are yet to be constructed and are waiting for road foundation materials…
Sections of the expressway have not been handed over by localities for construction.
Many households have not agreed to relocate and hand over the land for the construction of the expressway.
During a recent on-site inspection of the Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway, Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thắng directed the investor and the contractors to continue overcoming difficulties and accelerate the progress of completing the expressway. In the context of difficulties with sand supply, the Ministry of Transport will coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the provinces of An Giang, Đồng Tháp, and Vĩnh Long to ensure support and supply of sand in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister. Emphasizing that land clearance is the deciding factor for the project’s progress, the Minister requested the project to complete the settlement of weak soil foundations by June, August, and October 2024 milestones, ensuring a settlement period of 12 months. After that, the construction of surface foundations will be accelerated to meet the completion deadline by the end of 2025.
The Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway is the final project of the East route of the North-South Expressway Phase II. It is expected to connect the internal and inter-regional areas, complete the North-South expressway route from Hồ Chí Minh City – Trung Lương – Mỹ Thuận – Cần Thơ, and connect future East-West expressways Châu Đốc – Cần Thơ – Sóc Trăng and Hà Tiên – Rạch Giá – Bạc Liêu. When completed, the expressway will have 4 lanes, a road surface width of 17 m, and a maximum speed of 80 km/h; the complete phase will have a wider road surface with a width of 25 m and a maximum speed of 120 km/h.
