An Urgent Pace: Drilling and Bridging
The Quang Ngai – Hoai Nhon Expressway project is 88km long, spanning Quang Ngai (60.3km) and Binh Dinh (27.7km) provinces, with a total investment of over VND 20,000 billion, including nearly VND 14,500 billion in construction value. This is one of the 12 largest sub-projects of the North-South Expressway East in the period of 2021 – 2025.
After more than 2 years of construction, the entire route has deployed 50/50 construction sites, with more than 3,000 engineers, workers, and 1,100 modern equipment. Up to now, the realized value has reached about VND 9,000 billion, equivalent to 68% of the whole project.
Contractors mobilized their full force of human resources and machinery to accelerate the construction of the project.
In Package XL1, which is 30km long and consists of 11 construction sites with more than 1,000 engineers, workers, and nearly 400 equipment, the road foundation has been basically completed. Specifically, the concrete pavement has reached over 17km, and the construction of bridges and culverts has been accelerated simultaneously.
Notably, all 31 bridges on the route have been constructed and achieved significant progress. Pile drilling and abutment construction are 100% complete, while girder casting and deck slab installation have reached approximately 97%. Notably, the Song Ve Bridge (600m long), the longest bridge on the route, is also substantially complete.
In Package XL2, which is over 27km long, there are currently 18 construction sites and nearly 800 workers simultaneously constructing 2 mountain tunnels, 29 bridges, 169 culverts, and 22 pedestrian underpasses. Among them, the construction of Tunnels No. 1 and No. 2 has been completed, and they have entered the stage of installing control equipment and intelligent transportation systems (ITS).
More than 3,000 engineers and workers are involved in the construction.
On the route, about 15km of the road has been gravel-surfaced, 15km has been cement-reinforced, and nearly 9km has been concrete-paved. All 29 bridges have been constructed, with pile drilling and abutment construction completed, and girder and deck slab installation reaching about 80%.
The most challenging package is XL3, which is over 30km long, with the highlight being Mountain Tunnel No. 3, 3,200m long. This is the longest and most complex road tunnel on the route, consisting of two tubes, each 12.75m wide. Here, the contractor mobilized more than 1,200 personnel and 430 equipment, divided into 16 continuous construction sites day and night.
So far, the right tube (North-South direction) has been excavated, exceeding the schedule by 6 months. The left tube has about 80m left and is expected to be completed in July 2025. However, the construction process encountered weak geology, grade IV rock with a strength of less than 25Mpa, causing the excavation rate to reach only 2-3m/day at some points.
Workers are drilling Tunnel No. 3.
The contractor organizes construction throughout the night.
Faced with this challenge, Deo Ca Group has implemented multiple technical solutions, applying the Deo Ca NATM tunnel excavation method, dividing the small blasting section into multiple small mirrors to reduce vibrations and risks, and organizing flexible construction to control the progress.
In addition, monitoring has been enhanced to closely monitor deformation and displacement parameters of the structures. Technical milestones are also thoroughly reviewed and inspected to ensure absolute accuracy when the two excavation fronts meet. After the tunnel is excavated, the contractor will continue with the widening excavation, foundation lowering, and tunnel shell concrete casting processes.
Ngo Truong Nam, General Director of Deo Ca Group (representing the contractor joint venture), said that they closely monitor the progress of each item, continuously construct and monitor to ensure absolute safety. After completing the tunnel excavation, the unit will accelerate the construction of the tunnel shell concrete and equipment installation. It is expected that Tunnel No. 3 will be completed by the end of December 2025, eight months ahead of schedule.
The contractor is deploying concrete pavement construction.
Up to now, the realized value has reached about VND 9,000 billion, equivalent to 68% of the whole project.
Not only the tunnel, but the road of Package XL3 is also racing against time. By mid-June, more than 22km of gravel surfacing, 15km of cement-reinforced gravel, and nearly 7km of concrete pavement had been constructed, and 17 out of 17 bridges had completed the main structure.
According to the contract, the Quang Ngai – Hoai Nhon Expressway must be completed by August 2026. However, with the current urgent construction pace, the contractors are determined to complete the road before September 30, 2025, and Tunnel No. 3 will be finished by December 31, 2025, eight months ahead of schedule.
Land Clearance Issues Remain
According to the Quang Ngai Province Traffic Project Management Board, for the sub-project on compensation, support, and resettlement for the Quang Ngai – Hoai Nhon section, the land clearance and handover of the 60.3km section in Quang Ngai Province have been completed, reaching 100% of the route length in the province.
Tunnel No. 1 and Tunnel No. 2 have been completed and are in the finishing stage.
Regarding the three locations with land clearance issues in Mo Duc District (1 location) and Duc Pho Town (2 locations), one of the three locations has been resolved (the north gate of Tunnel No. 1 in Duc Pho Town). The remaining two locations include Mo Duc District, at the location of the overpass at DH.41B (Km31+480), and Duc Pho Town at the location of the overpass at DH.46 (Km42+922).
Out of the seven locations where households obstructed and did not allow construction, five and seven-tenths locations have been resolved, leaving two locations, including the location in Nghia Hanh District (Km8+500 – Km8+700), where Mr. Ngo Van Su (from Hanh Dung Commune) re-obstructed on May 28 and 29, and the location in Mo Duc District (Km26+450), at the M1 abutment of Bridge DH.38-1, which includes six land plots.
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The Khe Net Pass railway section is a critical “bottleneck” that poses safety risks for trains traveling on the North-South rail line. With its 32 sharp curves, this stretch of track demands the use of guide rails to prevent derailments.
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In Hung Yen, it’s not just the Ring Road 4 – Capital Region that is witnessing accelerated construction, but the Ngoc Hoi Bridge (part of the Ring Road 3.5) is also making steady progress with new developments.
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The Deo Ca Group is set to offer over 193 million shares to its shareholders, aiming to boost its charter capital to nearly VND 6,800 billion. This move is intended to bolster working capital and fund strategic investments, including the expansion of the North-South Expressway in the East, and ventures into urban rail and high-speed rail for the North-South corridor.
The Devastating Scene of Two Abandoned Dry Port Projects in Hanoi’s Prime Location
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The Big Spenders: ‘Burning’ Through 200,000 Billion in Just Five Months
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