In December 2004, in Ben Luc in Long An, the construction of the first highway section of HCM City - Trung Luong kicked off. Six years later, only 89 kilometers of highway had been put into operation. By 2020, 1,074 kilometers more had been put into use, raising the total length to 1,163 kilometers.

According to the Ministry of Transport, from 2020 to now, the National Assembly and government have reserved big resources to develop highways, and the result of the investment is the appearance of an additional 566 kilometers, raising the total length of highways to 1,729 kilometers.

The government has decided that Vietnam needs to have over 3,000 kilometers of highways by 2025, which means that 1,270 kilometers more of highways must be built and completed in the next three years.

Under the road network development plan in 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2050, the eastern North-South Expressway from Huu Nghi Border Gate in Lang Son to Ca Mau will be 2,063 kilometers in length. The execution of the expressway will be implemented in different component projects and sections.

The North - South highway Phase 1 (2017-2020) with the length of 650 kilometers, comprising 11 component projects, has opened to traffic on seven sections, including Cao Bo - Mai Son, Mai Son - Highway 45, Cam Lo - La Son, Phan Thiet - Dau Giay, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, and Nha Trang - Cam Lam.

It is expected that the sections from Highway 45 to Nghi Son, 43 kilometers long, and from Nghi Son to Dien Chau, 50 kilometers, will open to traffic on National Day September 2, while the My Thuan 2 Bridge project is scheduled to be completed by December 31.

In 2024, the remaining two component projects, namely Dien Chau - Bai Vot and Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, would be put into operation.

While Phase 1 of the project is sprinting, in early 2023, 12 component projects of the North - South Expressway 2021-2025 (Phase 2) kicked off.

On June 18, speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the two highways of Nha Trang -Cam Lam and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, with the total length of 150 kilometers, which raised the total on the North - South road to 1,000 kilometers, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the eastern North - South Expressway must be completed at any cost by 2025.

Vu Diep