Soc Trang voters recommend that the competent authority invest in upgrading National Highway 61B from Nga Nam town to Phu Loc town, Thanh Tri district, connecting with National Highway 1A, period 2026-2030.
According to voters, the road is degraded and heavily damaged, the narrow road surface does not ensure traffic safety.
Responding to voters' recommendations, the Ministry of Construction said that according to the road network planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister, National Highway 61B has a starting point at the intersection with National Highway 61, Vinh Tuong, Hau Giang province, the end point is at the intersection with Nam Song Hau road (now National Highway 91B), Vinh Chau, Soc Trang province.
National Highway 61B is 74 km long, with a scale of a level III road, 2 to 4 lanes. National Highway 61B through Soc Trang province is about 54 km long.
Of which, the section reflected by voters is about 28 km long and has been invested in to meet the standards of a level III-IV road, 2 lanes and 5 weak bridges that have been invested in replacement since 2018.
The section from the intersection with National Highway 1 in Phu Loc town, Thanh Tri district to the intersection with Nam Song Hau road (National Highway 91B) in Vinh Chau town, about 26 km long, has not been invested according to the plan.
Recently, the Ministry of Construction has directed the Vietnam Road Administration to carry out basic regular maintenance to meet the travel service requirements of the people and invest in repairing some damaged and degraded sections of the route with capital for road economic activities.
In 2023, the unit will allocate about 12.04 billion VND, in 2024, it will allocate about 16.7 billion VND. In 2025, the unit will continue to allocate about VND15.2 billion for repairs.
The Ministry of Construction added that the Ministry agreed with the proposal of voters of Soc Trang province on the necessity of investing in and upgrading National Highway 61B from Nga Nam town to Phu Loc town to meet the transportation needs and economic development of Soc Trang province in particular and the Mekong Delta region in general.
However, due to resource constraints, it is not possible to allocate capital to invest in upgrading the sections of the route in the period of 2021 - 2025.
The Ministry of Construction acknowledges the voters' recommendations and will coordinate with the People's Committee of Soc Trang province to review and hand over the national highways that will be delegated to the Provincial People's Committee for management and report to competent authorities for consideration, investment in upgrading and expanding the routes in the period of 2026 - 2030.
