The Vietnam Road Administration has announced a significant policy shift, commencing in 2025, with the decentralization of road management authority to provincial People's Committees. This initiative will encompass approximately 84 percent of the national highway network, approximately 19,000 kilometers.
Specifically, provincial people's committees are specifically authorized to oversee the management of national highways within the province and centrally-managed cities.
Additionally, the management of infrastructure projects related to national highways is also decentralized. For projects involving bridges, tunnels, and ferries that span two localities, the Ministry of Transport will engage with appropriate provincial people's committees prior to determining whether to delegate project management to local people's committees.
The capital source for management when decentralized to provincial people's committees is implemented according to the provisions of the law on state budget, investment, public investment, investment in the form of public-private partnership, management, use of public assets and other relevant provisions of law.
After the decentralization takes effect, provincial people's committees are responsible for investing and constructing national highways according to the approved road network planning and road infrastructure planning while managing, operating, and protecting the road infrastructure of the decentralized national highway to ensure synchronous traffic connection in the network planning and infrastructure planning.
The Ministry of Transport will oversee the inspection and evaluation of decentralized national highways to verify that they meet the standards and quality outlined in the approved road network and infrastructure plans. This includes ensuring compliance with traffic connectivity regulations and adherence to technical standards and regulations within the road sector.
The Department of Road of Vietnam is actively preparing to facilitate the decentralization of national highway management, which will commence following the enforcement of Decree 165. This decree outlines several provisions of the Road Law and Article 77 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, set to take effect on January 1, 2025.
As part of the decentralization process, the Ministry of Transport is expected to directly manage 3,650 kilometers of national highways and expressways, accounting for roughly 16 percent of the total length of national highways. This oversight will include expressways under the Ministry’s control, National Highway 1, Ho Chi Minh Highway, highways designated for special national defense and security purposes, and those entrusted to state-owned enterprises for investment, management, operation, and use. Additionally, it will cover any other cases specified by the Prime Minister.
