PM Pham Minh Chinh talks to a worker at the construction site of the Van Phong - Nha Trang expressway project on April 29. (Photo: NDO)

The Government leader and officials examined some sub-projects of the North - South Expressway’s eastern wing, namely Van Phong - Nha Trang, Chi Thanh - Van Phong, and Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon; along with the Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway project.

Praising the spirit of engineers and workers at construction sites, PM Chinh asked the parties involved in the projects to summon all personnel and equipment to build the roads on schedule with progress, quality, aesthetic value, labour safety, and environmental protection guaranteed.

They also need to enhance examination and supervision, give commendation in timely manner, prevent corruption and negative phenomena, care for workers’ life, and ensure the people displaced to serve the projects have a better or at least equal quality of life compared to their previous living places, he noted.

In particular, he added, ministries, sectors, and localities must coordinate closely with one another to tackle bottlenecks, ensure smart transport management and operation, and build rest areas and support facilities meeting standards.

The Van Phong - Nha Trang expressway section, 83.35km long in total, traverses four district-level localities of Khanh Hoa province. Invested with over 11.8 trillion VND (465.6 million USD), its construction was launched in January 2023 and is expected to be completed in December 2025.

The Chi Thanh - Van Phong section is 48.05km long and runs through five district-level localities of Phu Yen province. It has total investment of more than 10.73 trillion VND. This sub-project started in January 2023 and is scheduled to finish in December 2025.

The 70.1km section of Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon crosses six district-level localities of Binh Dinh province and is invested with 12.4 trillion VND. Work started on this section in January 2023 and is scheduled to be completed on September 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, the first phase of the Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway project is 117.5km long in total, including about 32.7km through Khanh Hoa and 84.8km through the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. Comprising three sub-projects, it is set to be completed in 2026 and put into use entirely in 2027.

The North - South Expressway, from the Huu Nghi Border Gate in northern Lang Son province to Nam Can town in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, is 2,064km, of which 1,226km has been completed and open to traffic.

Aside from this route, many inter-regional expressways are also being built nationwide. Vietnam targets 3,000km of expressways by 2025 and 5,000km by 2030./.