On December 9, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An Province, and Tien Giang Province on studying investment in expanding the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
According to the report of the Ministry of Transport, this expressway belongs to the eastern North-South expressway, about 91km long.
Of which, the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong section was invested with advanced state budget capital, completed and put into use since 2010 with a length of 40km, scale of 4 lanes, land clearance for 8 lanes.
The Trung Luong - My Thuan section was invested under the PPP method, completed and put into operation from 2022 with a length of 51km, a scale of 4 limited lanes, and site clearance for 6 lanes.
Due to the inability to balance the budget for investment in expanding the route, the Ministry of Transport has coordinated with localities to propose a PPP plan for the entire route. Accordingly, the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong section will be expanded from 4 lanes to 8 lanes, and Trung Luong - My Thuan from 4 limited lanes to 6 lanes.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Do Thanh Trung emphasized that this is the vital route connecting the Western provinces to Ho Chi Minh City and Long Thanh airport, Tan Son Nhat airport... therefore, the units assigned to prepare the pre-feasibility study report need to clearly assess the traffic flow from the expressway to the regions and provinces of the Southeast.
"Along with the existing plan, the Ministry of Transport should add a plan to use additional State budget resources to complete site clearance for the entire route at the same time as expanding the expressway," Deputy Minister Do Thanh Trung said.
Vice Chairman of Tien Giang Provincial People's Committee Pham Van Trong proposed that the Ministry of Transport and project management boards continue to complete the service roads along the entire expressway to ensure the travel needs of people during the project expansion process.
Sharing the same view, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong agreed to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong section to 8 lanes, including Cho Dem intersection.
However, according to the plan, the scale will be increased to 10-12 lanes, so the Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed that the Central Government balance the budget to clear the land according to the plan.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assigned the Ministry of Transport to fully report on the implementation of the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway expansion project in the past time; consider and guide localities in selecting investors according to new regulations on public investment from January 1, 2025; and a plan to return assets formed from public investment capital to build the expressway.
The Ministry of Transport urgently proposes policies and funding needs for site clearance for the entire Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway according to the plan, assigning localities to implement and take responsibility for managing the cleared site.
