Revolutionizing Transportation Infrastructure: Unlocking New Possibilities Through Institutional and Operational Breakthroughs

Transport Infrastructure Continues to Break Through Thanks to a “Get Things Done, Don’t Back Down” Approach

In 2024, the transport sector completed and operated 11 sections of the North-South Expressway in the first phase, with a total length of 2,021km across the country.

Along with this, the 12 component projects of the North-South Expressway in phase 2 are also being urgently constructed to ensure progress.

Specifically, the 12 North-South Expressway projects in the Eastern region in phase 2 (2021 – 2025) with a length of 729 km, including the Ha Tinh – Quang Tri, Quang Ngai – Nha Trang, and Can Tho – Ca Mau sections, are being implemented through appointed bidding. As of now, 7 projects are expected to be completed by the middle of next year, and the rest are being expedited to meet the goal of opening to traffic by the end of 2025.

Minister of Transport Tran Hong Minh has outlined a comprehensive picture of the achievements of the entire sector after a year of overcoming difficulties. Notably, there has been a breakthrough in transport infrastructure development.

According to the Minister, in 2024, the Ministry of Transport started construction on 10 projects and inaugurated 8 projects. The progress of key projects has been ensured.

Responding to the high-point emulation movement of 500 days and nights to bring 3,000km of expressways to the finish line by 2025, several component projects of the North-South Expressway from Quang Ngai to Khanh Hoa are expected to be completed ahead of schedule by 3 to 6 months.

According to Minister of Transport Tran Hong Minh, as the construction sites accelerated their work, the disbursement of investment capital also recorded many positive results. In 2024, the Ministry of Transport was allocated approximately 75,481 billion VND (including 71,288 billion VND allocated and extended according to the 2024 plan and 4,193 billion VND additionally allocated from November 2024).

With efforts in this pivotal year, it is expected that 50 transport projects will be completed in 2025. Among them are several large-scale projects such as: North-South Expressway in the Eastern region in the 2021 – 2025 period (12 component projects); Ho Chi Minh Road in the sections of Chon Thanh – Duc Hoa, Cho Chu – Ngã Ba Trung Sơn, Rach Soi – Ben Nhat, and Go Quao – Vinh Thuan; and the Hoa Lien – Tuy Loan Expressway… These projects will contribute to the successful realization of the goal of 3,000km of expressways by 2025.

In the field of aviation, key projects such as Terminal T3 of Tan Son Nhat International Airport and the runway project of Long Thanh International Airport are expected to be put into operation by the end of 2025.

In 2025, the Ministry of Transport was allocated a state budget of more than 71,135 billion VND (if including the surplus revenue from 2021, 2022, and 2023, the total plan capital in 2025 is about 87,000 billion VND).

The year 2025 holds special significance as it is the final year to implement the goals of the 13th National Party Congress. It is the year to put into operation nearly 1,000km of expressways and prepare investments for several large-scale projects with very tight progress (such as the high-speed railway and the railway connecting to China) amid expected changes in apparatus, structure, and organization.

In 2025, Nearly 1,000km of Expressways Will Be Put Into Operation

It can be said that strong infrastructure investment and achieving expected results have brought about a new face for the country and spread economic growth to many fields. Many North-South expressways that cross rivers and lakes, penetrate mountains and forests, and pass through pristine lands have been inaugurated and opened to traffic, opening up new urban development spaces, creating a “spinal cord” for the country’s socio-economic development, and transforming many regions.

The completion of transport infrastructure has helped shorten travel time and reduce logistics costs for people and businesses in their trade and import-export activities.

Previously, it took up to 5 hours to travel from Hanoi to Dien Chau (Nghe An province). Now, with the Mai Son – National Highway 45, National Highway 45 – Nghi Son, and Nghi Son – Dien Chau expressways (belonging to the North-South Expressway) in operation, the travel time has been reduced to 3.5 hours.

Similarly, since the Phan Thiet – Dau Giay and Cam Lam – Vinh Hao expressways were opened to traffic, the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to the tourist city of Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa) has been reduced to nearly 5 hours by car, instead of 8 hours when traveling on National Highway 1.

Especially, after more than 18 years of thorough, cautious, and scientific research, based on a careful study of the experiences of developed countries in the world, and selectively adapting them to suit the practical conditions of Vietnam, the Ministry has completed the research and reported to the Politburo and the Central Committee, which then approved the Resolution on the Investment Project for the North-South High-Speed Railway.

At the 8th session (November 2024), the National Assembly passed the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project, with an initial total capital of 1.7 million billion VND, equivalent to 67 billion USD, and expected completion in 2035.

The Ministry of Transport also coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to thoroughly and scientifically prepare and finalize the master plan for the urban railway systems of the two cities, taking into account the conclusions of the Government’s Standing Committee, and submitted it to the Politburo for approval.

Transport Infrastructure Development Propels the Country Forward

Previously, at the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee in mid-October 2024, regarding the results of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan in 2024 and the socio-economic development plan for 2025, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized: “In 2024, infrastructure development was strongly promoted, with a breakthrough in transport and power infrastructure.”

Minister Dung affirmed: “So far, more than 2,021km of expressways have been completed and put into operation, opening up many new development spaces. A high-point emulation movement of 500 days and nights has been launched to complete 3,000km of expressways by 2025.”

Along with this, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung highly appreciated the operation of the elevated section of the Nhon – Hanoi Railway project and the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien urban railway line in 2024, as well as the acceleration of construction progress to strive to put Terminal T3 into operation before April 30, 2025, and Long Thanh Airport in the first half of 2026.

According to Dr. Tran Khac Tam, NA Deputy of the 13th tenure, Member of the Provincial Council of Soc Trang province, and Chairman of the Soc Trang Provincial Business Association, in previous years, Vietnam’s logistics industry still had certain limitations as it could not fully exploit its geo-economic advantages and did not match the potential of each locality.”

The slow development of the logistics industry was due to the underdeveloped infrastructure serving logistics activities, as well as the weak connectivity between commercial, transport, and information technology infrastructure in the country and with the region.

Dr. Tran Khac Tam said that after nearly 40 years of renovation and 13 years of implementing the socio-economic development strategy for the 2011 – 2020 period (as set out at the 11th National Party Congress), Vietnam’s transport infrastructure has developed strongly, propelling the country forward and transforming it.

From having no expressways, Vietnam now has more than 2,000km of expressways. By 2025, the country is expected to have about 3,000km of expressways and achieve the goal of 5,000km by 2030. Notably, the National Assembly’s approval of the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway plays an important role in socio-economic development.

In light of the changes in transport infrastructure, Dr. Tran Khac Tam commented: “This is a result of the tireless efforts of the Party, State, and Government, as well as the entire political system. Transport infrastructure has made remarkable progress thanks to breakthroughs in institutions and policies made by the Party, National Assembly, and Government.”

According to Dr. Tran Khac Tam, the achievements were made possible thanks to the unblocking of policies and guidelines from the top down, along with the timely and appropriate allocation of budget capital for transport projects. Close supervision and strong leadership are among the key factors contributing to the breakthrough development of transport infrastructure.

Building on Strengths and Improving Weaknesses

At the conference to review the work in 2024 and deploy tasks for 2025 of the Ministry of Transport, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha acknowledged and highly appreciated the achievements of the transport sector, stating: “With the mission of going first and opening up paths, transport is the sector that creates connections for economic fields, between localities, and between nations.”

Especially in the field of road transport, if in nearly 20 years (from 2021 and earlier), only about 1,200km of expressways were built, then from 2021 to now, nearly 900km of expressways have been completed and put into operation, bringing the total length of expressways to 2,021km.

Giving directions for the tasks ahead, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Transport to develop transport modes synchronously and calculate the balanced development between regions. Transport projects must be placed within an ecosystem and have connectivity and consistency to maximize investment efficiency.

“Key projects such as the North-South high-speed railway, Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho, and Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong need to be expedited in terms of investment procedures and construction commencement,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

At the same time, the transport sector needs to continue institutional reforms, especially in the fields of railways, maritime, inland waterways, and aviation, after focusing on creating breakthroughs in road transport.

Digital transformation and green transformation should be further promoted, from planning to construction and operation.

In the future, after the merger process, the transport sector needs to build on its strengths and improve its weaknesses in the spirit of “a streamlined ministry, strong provinces,” gradually training a contingent of officials with a breakthrough mindset and innovative thinking, and organizing a management apparatus towards “Agility – Lean – Strength – Efficiency – Effectiveness – Performance,” with integration in the management of urban and rural areas to create comprehensive strength.