Many rest stops have not yet determined when to put charging stations into operation
The Minister of Construction has just issued a telegram requesting localities, the Vietnam Road Administration, transport infrastructure investment enterprises and rest stop investors to urgently deploy electrical charging systems at road rest stops.
This is to accelerate the formation of a continuous, synchronous, safe and convenient electricity charging station network nationwide, creating a foundation for the roadmap to transition to green transportation.
According to the results of the Vietnam Road Administration's review of 21 rest stops on the North-South Expressway in the East, investors have all included the electricity charging area in the investment plan, and some units have built transformer stations and prepared backup power sources.
However, the implementation progress is still slow. To date, only 4/21 rest stops have put part of the electrical charging system into operation; 8/21 stations are being implemented, while the remaining 9 stations have not been installed.
Notably, most stations have not determined the completion time of the electrical charging system; some have not selected investment, management, and operation units, as well as no plans to put charging stations into operation.
According to the Ministry of Construction, these shortcomings need to be comprehensively reviewed at all rest stops nationwide.
Completing synchronous electrical charging infrastructure at rest stops
The Ministry of Construction requests investors and businesses providing rest stop service to urgently review design documents, land funds, power supply capacity and contract obligations; develop specific plans for each station, clearly identify the number of charging locations, expected capacity, implementing units and electrical connection milestones, construction, acceptance and operation to report to the Vietnam Road Administration for monitoring.
The scale of investment must be suitable for the current traffic flow, the trend of increasing electric vehicles and long-term exploitation needs. The electric charging system needs to be deployed synchronously with the progress of investment, renovation, and upgrading of rest stops.
For rest stops subject to transition according to QCVN 43:2024/BGTVT, the Ministry of Construction requests to complete the additional electrical charging system before January 1, 2027.
The Ministry also requests investors to urgently select investment units, manage and operate electric charging systems in accordance with the law, prioritizing businesses with financial capacity, experience in deploying large-scale charging station networks, modern technology, synchronous management systems and compatibility with many electric vehicles in circulation as well as expanding when demand increases.
In addition, the electrical charging area must be synchronously invested with parking lots, transformer stations, electrical systems, lightning protection, monitoring, internal traffic; ensuring compliance with regulations on construction, electrical safety, fire prevention and fighting, environmental protection and road infrastructure.
The Ministry of Construction also assigned Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Financial Investment Corporation (VIDIFI) and Project Management Boards under the Ministry to review all project contracts, design documents and investment progress at each rest stop; determine the completion milestones of the electrical charging system, ensuring that when stations are put into operation, they must fully meet the requirements for electrical charging areas and technical infrastructure according to national standards.
At the same time, these units must closely coordinate with the Vietnam Road Administration, local authorities and the electricity sector to remove obstacles in site clearance, construction procedures, electricity connection and fire prevention and fighting; promptly implement or propose to apply handling measures according to regulations for slow-progress items.
For localities, the Ministry of Construction requests the People's Committees of provinces and cities to direct specialized agencies to implement regulations on road rest stops; review and urge the completion of electrical charging systems under their management, and at the same time actively support investors to remove difficulties in land, ground, electricity connection, construction and fire prevention to ensure progress.
The Vietnam Road Administration is assigned to continue urging the investment in electrical charging systems at 21 rest stops on the North-South Expressway in the East; guiding localities to review and supplement electrical charging infrastructure at operating rest stops nationwide, summarize difficulties and obstacles and propose solutions to report to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and handling.
The Ministry of Construction also assigned the Department of Science and Technology, Environment and Building Materials to preside over summarizing the reports and proposals of the Vietnam Road Administration; advise the Ministry's leaders to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to review and complete regulations, standards and technical regulations under their authority, ensuring compliance with the roadmap for transitioning to green vehicles.
