North-South Expressway's segments proposed for upgrade to meet high traffic demands

Việt Nam currently has over 2,000km of expressways in total, with over 1,800km under construction. Of these, more than 1,000km are expected to be completed by 2025, reaching the target of over 3,000km.

Proposals have been made to expand several sections of the North-South Expressway to accommodate future traffic growth, in alignment with the urgent need for a comprehensive nationwide road system.

According to an expansion study from Project Management Board 6, under the Ministry of Construction (MoC), the eastern section of the North–South Expressway stretches from Hữu Nghị Border Gate (in the northern province of Lạng Sơn) to the southern city of Cà Mau.

It has a total length of approximately 2,063km, equivalent to 22 per cent of the national expressway network. To date, 1,206km have been opened to traffic, and 834km are under construction.

Currently, 1,163km of the expressway have been or are being built with a limited four-lane design (roadbed width is 17m); 99km are in operation with a complete four-lane design; and 113km are being upgraded to four to six lanes.

The Government during 2017-20 proposed investing in approximately 654km of high-demand segments using the limited four-lane model with intermittent hard shoulders. Expanding these sections to a full four-lane design would require an estimated VNĐ86.1 trillion (US$3.3 billion) in Government funding, exceeding the available budget at the time by about VNĐ55 trillion ($2.1 billion).

In 2021, to expedite the completion of the eastern section of the North-South Expressway, the National Assembly (NA) approved investment policy in the remaining sections with the same limited four-lane design.

Highlighting changes in socio-economic development goals since the initial plans were approved, the Project Management Board 6 noted that growing transport demands and sufficient resources justify revisiting expansion plans for this critical transport corridor of the country.

Eighteen component projects are proposed for expansion, including: Mai Sơn–National Highway 45, National Highway 45–Nghi Sơn, Nghi Sơn–Diễn Châu, Diễn Châu–Bãi Vọt, Nha Trang–Cam Lâm, Cam Lâm–Vĩnh Hảo, Vĩnh Hảo–Phan Thiết, Phan Thiết–Dầu Giây, Bãi Vọt–Hàm Nghi, Hàm Nghi–Vũng Áng, Vũng Áng–Bùng, Bùng–Vạn Ninh, Vạn Ninh–Cam Lộ, Quảng Ngãi–Hoài Nhơn, Hoài Nhơn–Quy Nhơn, Quy Nhơn–Chí Thạnh, Chí Thạnh–Vân Phong and Vân Phong–Nha Trang.

To speed up construction, ensure feasibility and operation schedule and make use of resources from ongoing projects, the board recommends using public investment for these expansions.

The board also advised that the expansions would enhance traffic capacity and safety. Many current sections were built with limited configurations, leading to several challenges in managing traffic. It would also increase the maximum speed allowed from 90km/h to 120km/h.

According to the MoC, Việt Nam currently has over 2,000km of expressways in total, with over 1,800km under construction. Of these, more than 1,000km are expected to be completed by 2025, reaching the target of over 3,000km. Another 500km already has funding allocated for construction. This means that only around 700km need to be built and launched between 2026-30 to meet the national goal of 5,000km.

Ongoing projects in construction can also benefit from lower costs by using existing equipment, workforce, infrastructure and material sources.

For effective project implementation, the board proposed that the MoC prioritise 18 segments of the North–South Expressway’s eastern section between Hà Nội and HCM City, covering about 1,144km with an estimated investment of VNĐ152.14 trillion ($5.9 billion).

Segments not yet proposed for expansion, such as the 149-km-long Mỹ Thuận–Cần Thơ–Cà Mau due to lower traffic demand, difficult construction conditions and material shortages are recommended to be upgraded in later projects.