Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 12 chaired a meeting with ministries, sectors and localities, discussing plans to invest in an expressway connecting the northern provinces of Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh and Thai Binh, and another linking Gia Nghia city in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and Chon Thanh township in southern Binh Phuoc province.

The Ninh Binh-Nam Dinh-Thai Binh expressway has a total length of 88km, while the Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh expressway is 128.8km long. The designing work of the two projects are being underway.

Participants underlined the significance of the two projects in socio-economic development and defence-security protection in the two regions, while giving proposals on their scale and investment methods as well as measures to mobilise resources from the society.

Speaking at the meeting, PM Chinh said that the Ninh Binh-Nam Dinh-Thai Binh expressway will help complete the expressway system in the northern region from Lang Son to Thanh Hoa, boosting the socio-economic growth in the eastern part of the Red River Delta.

Meanwhile, the Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh expressway is expected to better connect the Central Highlands region with economic hubs in the South, thus enabling its stronger development.

However, he said that the State budget for these projects are limited, and the public-private partnership will be a good solution.

The Government leader stressed the need for close coordination among relevant ministries, sectors and localities during the implementation of the projects.

The Government will set up working groups in charge of these projects, PM Chinh said, assigning Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha to lead the groups which will have the participation of deputy ministers from relevant ministries. Similar working groups must be established in provinces, led by the Chairpersons of the provincial People’s Committees to direct the implementation of the projects, he said.

PM Chinh asked consulting units and contractors to work carefully with the projects with the highest sense of responsibility, ensuring that the expressways have four completed lanes at reasonable costs.

He requested the localities to promptly prepare construction material mines and hand over them directly to investors and contractors. The People’s Councils of the involved provinces should approve planning schemes on land and forest to give space for the projects, the leader added.