The Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project phase 1 is a key traffic project of the Mekong Delta region, in which component projects 2, 3 and 4 passing through Can Tho City are being implemented simultaneously.
The project has a total investment of 31,288.077 billion VND, implementation time from 2022 to 2027, with a route scale starting at Km57+200 in Thanh Quoi commune (Can Tho City), ending point at Km189+666.65 intersecting with Nam Song Hau National Highway and the access road to Tran De port according to the plan, total length of about 132.47 km.
Currently, component projects 2, 3 and 4 have a total of 11 construction packages, including 10 construction packages and 1 construction package for traffic safety systems, with a total construction volume of about 54%.
The Can Tho City Traffic and Agricultural Construction Investment Project Management Board (PMB) said that in the process of implementation, one of the biggest difficulties of component projects 2, 3 and 4 is the supply of materials, especially filling sand and construction stone.
The total demand for filling sand of the three component projects is about 17.4 million m3, while the volume brought to the construction site reached about 10.234 million m3. However, the supply still faces many obstacles due to unstable mine sources, many mines are in the process of extending licenses, expiring exploitation periods or having to temporarily suspend operations.
For component project 2, Binh Phuoc Xuan mine (An Giang province) is carrying out procedures to extend the mining license and is expected to be completed in April 2026; Vam Nao and Tan Hoa mines have expired their mining licenses and are currently continuing to carry out procedures to extend them to serve the project.
In Dong Thap province, mines such as An Nhon and Hoa Hung 4 have total reserves according to the license of about 2.896 million m3, but in reality, exploitation is low due to some mines temporarily suspended due to landslides or not meeting technical requirements, causing the total feasible exploitation volume to be only about 1.538 million m3.
For component project 4, the city has licensed the exploitation of 3 sea sand mines including B1. 1, B1. 2 and B1. 4 with a total reserve of about 4.3 million m3, but the actual exploitation capacity is expected to only reach about 1 million m3.
In addition, the total demand for stone material for 3 component projects is about 4.123 million m3, of which about 0.805 million m3 has been gathered for the project and has been used. The volume of stone identified sources is 1.832 million m3, and the volume of unidentified sources is about 2.291 million m3.
Although the construction volume of component projects 2, 3 and 4 has reached about 54%, progress is still under great pressure due to a shortage of materials, especially filling sand and construction stone. If difficulties in the mining mechanism are not soon removed and stable supply is ensured, the project completion target by 2027 may be affected.
