Nguyen Thi Kim Be, a National Assembly Deputy from Kien Giang province, said the Ho Chi Minh Road is an important transport project which has great political, economic and national defense significance. The 11th and 13th National Assembly released two resolutions on the project.

The road project has gone through several government tenures. To date, 86.1 percent of the workload has been implemented, and the completed sections have joined the national transport network.

However, 171 kilometers of road still have not been built, though Resolution 66 of the 13th National Assembly decided that the entire HCM City Road needs to be finished by 2020.

Be noted that the Government and relevant ministries drew up plans to implement the project and allocated capital for it, but they appear to have forgotten that the project needs to be given special priority.

“Local people have been waiting so long and they still cannot see the road. I myself have been repeatedly asking several transport ministers for the implementation of the remaining sections of the road. However, regrettably, I still cannot convince them,” Be said. 

The National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and the Environment recently came to the localities on field trips to give opinions about the continued investment in Ho Chi Minh road.

“People say please give us a road, a promising road, that helps us escape poverty,” she said. “Local people deserve to have the road that they dream of.”

Tran Van Tien, a National Assembly Deputy from Vinh Phuc province, said there are some problems in project execution. The site clearance of some component projects has not been completed. The planning is two years behind the National Assembly's Resolution.

Regarding the investment plan after 2020, Tien agrees with the plan on implementing four component projects which found capital sources in 2021-2025, and one two-lane component project. Meanwhile, one component project, from Co Tiet to Ben Market (87.5 kilometers), has no investment plan.

A National Assembly deputy said it’s still unclear when Ho Chi Minh Road, which has gone through five National Assembly terms, will be completed and put through from Pac Bo to Ca Mau.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The agrees that Ho Chi Minh is an extremely important road.

In 2000-2010, project implementation went very well. In 2011-2015, big resources were arranged for implementation. However, when the project was under execution, the 2008-2010 economic recession occurred. The Government then got the nod from the Politburo on postponing many projects to control inflation. 

That was why some large projects, including Ho Chi Minh Road, had to be postponed.

In 2016-2020, unfinished projects were restarted, with a focus on the North-South Expressway eastern part in Phase 1 and other key projects. Therefore, the resources for Ho Chi Minh Road were not large.

From 2011 to 2020, the project could not be implemented because of inadequate resources.

Another reason behind the tardiness is that the Ho Chi Minh Road goes through areas with complicated terrain, which makes it difficult to execute construction.

Minister The affirmed that the National Assembly, Government, ministries and branches, and localities all pay high attention to the project.

Regarding capital arrangement for project implementation in the time to come, the minister said highway projects are implemented in accordance with the Law on Public Investment. Capital has been arranged and capital shortage as seen in the past will not occur. With instruction by the Government, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and localities, the Ho Chi Minh Road and other projects will proceed rapidly.

“We have arranged capital for Cho Chu – Trung Son T-junction, Rach Soi – Ben Nhat, Go Quao – Ninh Thuan sections, totaling VND4.4 trillion. The Ministry of Transport hopes that local authorities will join forces to speed up the project and fulfill it prior to 2025,” The said.

Minister The affirmed that it is time to invest in the Ho Chi Minh Road. MOT will report to the Government on a plan to upgrade and expand this route in 2026-2030 and invest in roads connecting with Ho Chi Minh Road.

Tran Thuong