National highways across the country will need an estimated VND300 trillion (US$12.8 billion) in funding for renovation works over the next 10 years, stated Nguyen Van Huyen, head of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam.

Maintenance is performed on the East-West Highway in HCMC

For this year alone, more than VND49 trillion is needed for road repairs and upgrades. However, the National Road Maintenance Fund cannot cover this amount, according to the Finance Department under the Ministry of Transport.

A report by the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam sent to the Ministry of Transport showed that the National Road Maintenance Fund has met only 30% of the demand for the renovation of deteriorating roads since it was established six years ago.

The fund is expected to collect more than VND10 trillion this year. Meanwhile, over 16,000 kilometers, or 66%, of national highways have yet to be maintained as planned.

Huyen said the fund should be used in a reasonable manner to meet the periodic national highway maintenance demand and ensure the efficient allocation of the fund budget.

Le Hoang Minh, chief of the National Road Maintenance Fund Office, proposed adjusting the time needed for executing a project to maintain and repair national highways to match the National Assembly’s tenure, allowing for convenient capital distribution.

Minh also suggested hiking the road maintenance fees for vehicles of mobile phone service providers, post offices and those in the electricity sector using the traffic infrastructure, and holding tenders for national highway maintenance and upgrades.

SGT