Construction on the Bến Lức- Long Thành Expressway between Long An and Đồng Nai provinces through HCM City. — Photo baodautu.vn

HCM CITY — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has sent an urgent order to HCM City and Đồng Nai Province authorities to complete site clearance for the Bến Lức-Long Thành Expressway project in the fourth quarter of this year.

The PM has urged localities to speed up site clearance to ensure construction progress on the eastern sections of the North-South Expressway and a number of key transport projects in the southern region.

The Bến Lức-Long Thành Expressway between Long An and Đồng Nai provinces through HCM City is a component project of the North-South Expressway.

Construction on the expressway began in 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2021. It has been running behind schedule due to delays in land clearance and capital disbursement.

Fourty-six households affected by the project have not handed over land required for the construction of the project, including 17 households in HCM City’s Bình Chánh District and 29 households in Đồng Nai Province.

Land disputes and complaints related to land compensation rates have caused the delay.

The Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC), Ministry of Transport and Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) have been asked to coordinate with agencies to quickly arrange capital for compensation payments for affected households.

Some localities have completed less than 90 per cent of land clearance and compensation for component projects of the North-South Expressway. The entire land should be handed over to contractors by the end of the third quarter.

Only 40 per cent of construction of resettlement areas has been completed. The relocation of technical infrastructure has reached nine per cent in localities.

The PM has asked the people’s committees of localities, Việt Nam Electricity (EVN), Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) to ensure site clearance, continued construction progress of resettlement areas, and relocation of technical infrastructure.

For the Long Thành International Airport project, Đồng Nai Province’s People’s Committee has been urged to complete site clearance for the 1,810ha of the total 5,000ha by the end of this year, and the remaining area in the second quarter of next year.

The people’s committees of Đồng Tháp and Vĩnh Long provinces have been asked to speed up site clearance to ensure progress of the Mỹ Thuận - Cần Thơ Expressway project. Construction is expected to start in December.

The PM has also required the Ministry of Transport to take responsibility and closely work with localities to ensure site clearance and a sufficient supply of capital for these projects.

Contractors receiving land must quickly start construction and ensure the quality and progress of the projects, he said. — VNS