The Vân Phong – Nha Trang Expressway has been completed and is ready for operation. The route runs from Cổ Mã Tunnel in Đại Lãnh Commune to Diên Thọ Commune in Khánh Hòa Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Construction has called for faster disbursement of public investment in major road projects and greater completion of social housing developments to help achieve the 2025 GDP growth target of 8.5 per cent and build momentum for double-digit growth in the years ahead.

According to the ministry, in the first nine months of 2025 Việt Nam completed 455km of expressways, bringing the total length of operational expressways nationwide to about 2,476km.

Nine new projects were launched, including upgrades and expansions of bridges and tunnels on National Highway 1; the widening of the Cao Bồ–Mai Sơn Expressway; the connecting road between the Nội Bài–Lào Cai Expressway and the Tuyên Quang–Phú Thọ Expressway; the Chợ Mới–Bắc Kạn route; National Highway 46 from fromer Vinh City to former Nam Đàn Town (both in Nghệ An Province); expansion of the La Sơn–Hòa Liên section of the North–South Expressway; the second phase of weak bridge rehabilitation and connection projects on national highways; phase one of the Mỹ An–Cao Lãnh Expressway; and the Dầu Giây–Tân Phú Expressway.

Six projects were completed and put into operation, including the connection of weak bridges on national highways; the Bãi Vọt–Hàm Nghi and Hàm Nghi–Vũng Áng sections; the Vân Phong–Nha Trang Expressway; the Rạch Miễu 2 bridge; and component 1 of the Tân Vạn–Nhơn Trạch Expressway (phase 1). Four other projects, including Vũng Áng–Bùng, Bùng–Vạn Ninh, Vạn Ninh–Cam Lộ and Hòa Liên–Túy Loan routes, have also been partially opened to traffic.

The ministry is also expediting procedures to ensure groundbreaking of the Lào Cai–Hà Nội–Hải Phòng railway project on December 19, 2025, as well as the North–South high-speed railway. It is working with local authorities on site clearance, resettlement and support measures while ensuring progress across ten projects under the 2021–2025 medium-term public investment plan, including the Cẩm Lý railway bridge on the Kép–Hạ Long line.

For 2025 the Ministry of Construction has been allocated about VNĐ87.2 trillion (US$3.4 billion) in public investment capital from the central budget. As of now, about VNĐ 38.4 trillion (44 per cent) has been disbursed. The ministry acknowledged the low disbursement rate, citing both objective and subjective reasons, including reduced demand for disbursement in major projects such as sections of the North–South Expressway.

To meet the Prime Minister’s directive of 100 per cent disbursement in 2025, the ministry pledged to step up on-site inspections, promptly resolve obstacles and prioritise key national and sectoral projects scheduled for completion this year.

On housing, the ministry reported that 692 social housing projects are underway nationwide, with a planned supply of 633,559 units. Of these, 165 projects have been completed, 147 are under construction and 380 have received investment approval. This represents 59.6 per cent of the target outlined in the Government’s programme to build one million affordable housing units for low-income earners and industrial zone workers during 2021–2030.

From early 2025 to date, 43,681 out of 100,275 planned units, accounting for 43.6 per cent, have been completed. By the end of the year an additional 39,245 units are expected to be finished, raising the total to 82,926, accounting for 83 per cent of the target. Meanwhile, 135,033 units are currently under construction, with 69 projects breaking ground in the first nine months alone.

The ministry said it has dispatched more than 30 working groups to localities to review, guide and address bottlenecks in social housing projects. However, it admitted that the number of completed projects still falls short of targets. Some projects, despite being launched, have yet to begin construction or are progressing slower than planned.

Looking ahead, the ministry will continue deploying inspection missions to accelerate implementation of the Government’s programme to build one million affordable housing units for low-income earners and industrial zone workers during 2021–2030. It will also work closely with the State Bank of Vietnam to ease access to concessional loans for social housing, worker housing and old apartment redevelopment projects, including loans for young buyers under 35 to purchase social housing. — VNS