Ho Chi Minh City voters reported that the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway has seriously degraded.
Toll stations are damaged, some construction sections are unfinished and have been temporarily suspended for a long time, high-altitude iron holes are rusted, causing danger to people and vehicles participating in traffic.
The road surface in many sections is rough, with littering along the roadside, affecting traffic safety, environmental sanitation, aesthetics and people's lives.
Along with the above situation, toll stations on National Highway 51 and some routes across the country, although temporarily suspended from toll collection, have not been dismantled or the site has been returned, causing obstacles and affecting vehicle traffic.
Although this problem has been proposed by voters many times, it has not been resolved yet. As well as the settlement and information about the settlement results of the competent authority are still unclear and not final.
Voters requested the Ministry of Construction to urgently have solutions to maintain, maintain and repair the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, ensure traffic safety, environmental sanitation and meet the travel needs of people; soon have solutions to completely resolve and dismantle expired toll stations that have stopped collecting tolls, restored airy areas, ensured traffic safety, overcome shortcomings to ensure traffic safety and the aesthetics of roads across the country.
After studying, the Ministry of Construction responded as follows:
For the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, part of the North - South Expressway in the East, a vital traffic axis, directly connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the provinces of the Mekong Delta, the route has been put into operation since 2010, currently operating with a scale of 4 lanes.
Recently, the Ministry of Construction has directed the Vietnam Road Administration (VHA) to carry out maintenance to meet the people's travel service requirements and invest in repairing some damaged and degraded sections of the route with capital for road economic activities.
Of which, in 2024, about 77.7 billion VND will be allocated, in 2025, about 47.8 billion VND will be allocated. However, due to increased traffic volume, the route often experiences local congestion, posing a risk of traffic insecurity, especially during rush hour, holidays, and Tet, affecting traffic safety and operational efficiency.
The upgrading and expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway is an urgent requirement to meet transportation needs, improve travel capacity, traffic safety, and minimize accidents and damage caused by prolonged congestion.
The Ministry of Construction has approved the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway Expansion Investment Project under the public-private partnership method, accordingly, the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway will be expanded to 8 lanes; expected to start construction on December 19, 2025. After the project is completed, it will meet the needs of smooth and safe transportation.
Regarding the dismantling of toll stations on National Highway 51, section Km0+900 - Km73+600, in Dong Nai province and Ba Ria - Vung Tau province (old) under the form of BOT Contract (National Highway.1 BOT Project), toll collection has been stopped since January 13, 2023.
The Ministry of Construction has directed the Vietnam Road Administration to negotiate 24 sessions to resolve difficulties and problems on the principle of "harmonious benefits, shared risks".
The BOT project enterprise, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Development Joint Stock Company (BVEC), has handed over National Highway 51 to the competent management agency. After the Ministry of Finance decided to transfer assets of road traffic infrastructure for National Highway 51 (April 2025).
The Ministry of Construction has handed over to the locality (formerly Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee and Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial People's Committee) to manage National Highway 51.
As for toll stations on National Highway 51 related to credit contracts signed between BVEC and banks sponsoring the National Highway 51 BOT project, BVEC has not yet handed over the above toll stations to the competent authority.
At the negotiation meeting on November 4, 2025, BVEC pledged to work with the sponsoring banks to agree on the content of the demolition of toll stations.
The Ministry of Construction will direct the Vietnam Road Administration to continue to coordinate with BVEC to receive the handover of toll stations on National Highway 51 as a basis for carrying out procedures to dismantle toll stations when eligible.
