On March 17, Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee held a regular press conference in February 2026 to inform about the socio-economic development situation in the area in the first months of the year.
At the press conference, Mr. Nguyen Tai Minh - Deputy Director of the Project Management Board for Investment in Construction of Transport and Agriculture, Rural Development of Dak Lak province (Board A) - informed that the handling of the situation of thieves stealing equipment belonging to the lighting system on the eastern bypass of Buon Ma Thuot has just been completed.
According to Mr. Minh, the lighting electrical item of the project has been completed. However, through inspection, the construction units discovered that some lighting poles were cut and stolen equipment belonging to the system by thieves, including underground cables in the area of the intersection with National Highway 26 and National Highway 27. Board A has issued a document reporting to Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee about the theft of some equipment of the lighting electrical system item of the project.
According to a representative of Board A, the stolen equipment is mainly located underground, so repairs are facing many difficulties. However, to ensure traffic safety on the route, Board A has requested construction contractors to proactively repair the stolen items in the immediate future and restore lighting supply at affected locations.
As Lao Dong newspaper has reported, in August 2025, there was a situation of thieves continuously cutting underground cables and equipment at the Ho Chi Minh road project section bypassing the East of Buon Ma Thuot, causing damage to the contractor.
Accordingly, 48 lighting cabinet positions at the project (section at the intersection with National Highway 26) were cut and stolen underground cables and equipment by thieves. Total damage is more than 530 million VND. The stolen location is at the intersection with National Highway 26, an area with many people and vehicles passing through.
The project investor has sent a document to the police agency, requesting to investigate and handle the thieves for handling according to the provisions of law.
The Ho Chi Minh road project bypassing the East of Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak province) has a total investment of more than 1,800 billion VND from the central budget, with a length of more than 39 km. The project has been completed to date and is expected to officially open in March 2026.
