On May 25, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh chaired an online meeting with Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces on the investment plan for the North-South expressway in the West section Pleiku - Buon Ma Thuot - Gia Nghia.
According to the proposal of Duc Long Gia Lai Group Joint Stock Company, the expressway has a length of about 265km, of which the section through Lam Dong province is about 75km long.
The starting point of the route is National Highway 19 in Bau Can commune (Gia Lai), the ending point connects to the Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh expressway and National Highway 14 in Nhan Co commune (Lam Dong).
The project is proposed to invest in a scale of 6 lanes, design speed from 80 - 120km/h with a total investment of about 77,000 billion VND.
According to the Ministry of Construction, when completed, the expressway will gradually complete the North-South expressway axis in the West, synchronously connecting with the national highway system, airports, seaports and horizontal expressways.
The project is expected to promote socio-economic development in the Central Highlands region, reduce logistics costs, expand the development space of industry, trade, services and tourism; and at the same time strengthen national defense and security assurance.
At the meeting, Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee Ho Van Muoi said that the locality agreed with the investment plan proposed by the Ministry of Construction. According to Mr. Muoi, this is the "dream road" that the people of the Central Highlands have been waiting for for many years.
Currently, Lam Dong is implementing the Tan Phu - Bao Loc, Bao Loc - Lien Khuong and Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh expressway projects. In the 2025 - 2030 term, the province is expected to balance about 6,000 billion VND for key transport projects.
Despite many budget difficulties, Lam Dong plans to allocate about 3,000 billion VND to coordinate with localities to implement the Pleiku - Buon Ma Thuot - Gia Nghia expressway project.
Provincial leaders also proposed that the Ministry of Construction be the project's managing agency to ensure progress, quality and investment efficiency.
Concluding the meeting, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh emphasized that this is a project of strategic significance for the entire Central Highlands region.
The Minister of Construction requested localities to coordinate drastically to promptly submit the investment policy to the National Assembly for approval in October 2026, striving to complete the project before 2030.
