Three days after the government enacted Resolution No.01/ND-CP dated January 5 to present major tasks for socioeconomic development and the state budget estimate for 2024, Nguyen Xuan Sang, Deputy Minister of Transport, signed a dispatch to the Maritime Project Management Unit urging it to accelerate the pace of the project to upgrade the Cai Mep-Thi Vai channel route – the section from buoy zero to the Cai Mep container terminal.

Valued at just $59 million, the project is deemed one of the key projects in the maritime sector and the Ministry of Transport (MoT) has been tasked with ramping up efforts for its completion as soon as possible.

Once completed, the new channel will be capable of receiving vessels from 160,000-200,000DWT, significantly bolstering the capacity of the whole channel network going to and from the Cai Mep-Thi Vai deepwater port system.

Aside from directly driving down transportation costs and time for Vietnamese exports to anchor at seaports in Europe and North America, the project also creates motivation to spur socioeconomic development in the southeastern region.

“Hence, both the contractors and implementation units have been urged to forge ahead in the spirit of the PM's guidance,” said DM Sang.

A perspective view of Long Thanh International Airport, a crucial project in the transport sector

Along with this, the MoT has mandated that the Maritime Project Management Unit needs to upscale its manpower, materials, and equipment, striving to complete the aforementioned channel route in January, and finalising the remaining construction work in May.

With this schedule, the project will require just 18 months for execution.

Vu Quang Minh, director of the Maritime Project Management Unit said, “The current tempo is very positive. If the weather supports progress, the project can reach the target of opening the channel to traffic before the Lunar New Year 2024.”

A raft of other crucial transport infrastructure projects have received instructions to continue working during the holiday period, particularly component projects under the North-South highway’s eastern section and Long Thanh International Airport.

Vu The Phiet, CEO of Airports Corporation of Vietnam, the developer of component project 3 for the T3 passenger terminal at Long Thanh International Airport, noted that after undergoing myriad hardships, the project has secured certain achievements, with important bid packages being kick-started from August 2023 at a total contract value approximating $2.2 billion.

So far, the project items have closely followed the schedule, matching the government’s guidance.

In 2024, the MoT aims to complete 23 projects, including the important Dien Chau-Bai Vot and Cam Lam-Vinh Hao sections of the North-South highway’s eastern part, bringing the total highways in use to 2,021km.

The MoT is also set to accelerate the implementation of key transport infrastructure projects of national significance, such as Hanoi’s belt road 4, Ho Chi Minh City’s belt road 3, the Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressways, and more.

Nguyen Duy Lam, Deputy Minister of Transport, stated that as most of the pivotal projects are in an acceleration phase, the MoT’s many construction sites might not stop work during the Lunar New Year holidays.

“We have assigned the Vietnam Transport Trade Union, the Vietnam Expressway Authority, and the Transport Construction Investment Management Authority to launch an emulation campaign, particularly during Lunar New Year, and work on activities to reward deserving individuals and units at various transport construction sites across the country,” said Lam.