Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh asked relevant localities to focus on solving problems in site clearance for the implementation of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project (Photo: SGGP)
According to the deputy PM, there are three major issues relating to the expressway project including legal issue, financial issue, and schedule. Presently, there are no more legal bottlenecks; therefore, he suggested that the Ministry of Transport coordinate with relevant units to submit the overall plan for restarting the project for the Government’s consideration, the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh also suggested that ministries, agencies, and localities focus on implementing projects such as the Ho Chi Minh Road and the Ring Road 3 to soon put these projects into operation, contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.
The Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project was approved by the Prime Minister in the list of projects and approved for investment in October 2010 by the Ministry of Transport. The expressway has a total length of 57.8 km, passing through Ho Chi Minh City and Long An and Dong Nai provinces.
More than VND31,000 billion is expected to pour into the expressway using three capital sources including ADB loan, JICA loan, and reciprocal capital. Because the loan sources come at different times, different parts of the project will not be carried out simultaneously.
The project started in October 2014 and more than VND 16,500 billion has so far been disbursed. In which, the construction and installation part has 11 main bidding packages, the construction output is about 78.96 percent.
Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project started in October 2014 (Photo: SGGP)
However, in the process of implementation, the project encountered difficulties in investment capital. Specifically, the first ADB loan agreement for the western part of the project closed in June 2019 and could not be extended due to authority for the project while JICA loans and reciprocal capital were not delivered from January 2019, leading to construction cessation from mid-2019.
Furthermore, outbreaks of the Covid-19 epidemic in the southern provinces in 2020-2021 have badly affected contractors’ financial condition and the implementation plan.
According to the project investor, Vietnam Expressway Development Investment Corporation - VEC, the problems with capital sources to implement the project have been basically solved so far. However, the restart of the project still faces many difficulties due to the long stopping time, some contractors are negotiating to resume construction.
Therefore, the project investor proposed the Government and relevant ministries and agencies to support the adjustment of loan agreements and support procedures for ODA capital allocation.
At the same time, it is allowed to extend the completion date according to the time estimation to the third quarter of 2025 because the investor hardly completes the project by the end of 2023 according to the approved plan.
