Funding pushes transport plans on

Funding pushes transport plans on

The public investment budget for transport infrastructure initiatives in 2025 could reach new heights, but can only make an impact if early allocation plans are carried out to their fullest.

Several segments of key national transport projects will be complete in the next few months, Le Toan

Tran Minh Phuong, director general of the Ministry of Construction’s (MoC) Department of Planning and Finance, said that the ministry has been allocated more than $3.3 billion for transport infrastructure undertakings. As of end-February, only around 4 per cent has been spent.

“Of this, projects under the North-South Expressway report the best disbursement at $70 million,” he said. “But an average of nearly $280 million needs to be disbursed each month to fully disburse the 2025 capital plan. Due to the slow disbursement progress so far this year, we requested investors to rebuild the disbursement plan for the remaining months in order to spend an average of $300 million.”

In the near future, it is expected that the prime minister will move some more budget to public investment, and the total amount for the MoC this year could raise to $4 billion, the highest ever, Phuong added.

The MoC will establish some working groups to inspect progress of implementation and disbursement of projects, especially key ones such as the eastern portion of the North-South Expressway, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot, Dai Ngai Bridge, and the Ho Chi Minh Road.

Across the country, to ensure that the disbursement rate of public investment capital this year reaches the target of over 95 per cent of the plan, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) requests authorities at all levels to urgently complete the detailed allocation of capital plans for tasks before March 31, and actively accelerate the disbursement progress of the state budget investment plan.

From April, the MoF will report on transfers to other relevant authorities in need of supplementing the 2025 capital plan for urgent or strategic infrastructure projects. Of this, the total central budget capital allocated by localities for key national expressways, inter-regional, and coastal road projects is $2.7 billion.

Still one of the largest undertakings in Vietnam, the North-South Expressway and its component projects are picking up steam in terms of completion.

Five segments through the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri will complete the main route before April 30, and the entire venture will be completed before July.

These projects are almost 260km in total length, with an investment of around $2 billion.

After a business trip to visit these projects led by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung on March 9-10, the MoC built a report for the prime minister.

Determination is high to complete these projects by July. However, it still depends a lot on weather conditions, the MoC reported.

Regarding supportive items like rest stops, intelligent traffic management systems, e-toll collections, and vehicle load testing, the MoC and investors are completing procedures to select investors and contractors to prepare design documents to soon start construction.

Besides this, also expected to be complete by the end of this year are the expressway projects of Hoa Lien-Tuy Loan, Quang Ngai-Hoai Nhon, Hoai Nhon-Quy Nhon, and Quy Nhon-Chi Thanh, at a cost of around $2 billion.

During a business trip by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh to these central provinces earlier in March, all investors and contractors committed to completing the segments by the end of September.

DPM Binh provided directions and solutions to remove some obstacles related to site clearance, relocation of technical infrastructure works, stone production capacity, and general progress.

Despite difficulties regarding similar issues, some segments of expressways in northern mountainous areas like Tuyen Quang-Ha

Giang, Dong Dang-Tra Linh, and Huu Nghi-Chi Lang are planned to be finalised by the end of this year.

VIR