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Ministry of Construction issues Announcement No. 161/TB-BXD summarizing the on-site inspection results of the Can Tho – Hau Giang and Hau Giang – Ca Mau sections of the North–South Expressway, eastern segment (2021–2025). According to the inspection results on April 14, the projects have been deployed by the Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board and contractors, gradually putting the main route into temporary operation. However, the Hau Giang – Ca Mau segment currently must suspend operation to complete remaining items. On site, units are constructing the feeder roads, interchanges, connecting routes, and the traffic operation monitoring system, while completing auxiliary items such as drainage ditches, slope stabilization, and enhancing traffic safety systems. Despite repeated reminders from the Ministry, the inspection shows progress remains slow; defects have not been fully remedied and do not meet technical requirements. The main causes are that some contractors have not allocated sufficient resources, construction organization has not kept up with the schedule, while the role of coordination led by the joint-venture contractors is limited. The Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board has also been assessed as not being decisive in directing, not promptly addressing slow contractors, leading to incomplete finishing of the main route and handover procedures. To ensure progress, the Ministry requires the investor and related units to treat this as a core task, mobilize maximum resources to finish the remaining items. The target is to complete the entire main route before April 25, 2026, and have it ready for acceptance and commissioning before April 30, 2026. At the same time, the Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board must review and clarify collective and individual accountability for those involved in the delays, and report to the Ministry by April 30, 2026; assume full responsibility for progress, quality of works, and traffic safety. For items outside the main route, the Ministry requires completion of feeder roads in May 2026; interchanges IC3, IC4, IC6, IC10 to be completed by June 30, 2026; connecting roads and branches to continue to be upgraded and completed according to the technical schedule. The Can Tho – Hau Giang and Hau Giang – Ca Mau expressways are important components of the East North Expressway, connecting the Mekong Delta’s central area with the region’s localities, contributing to relieving transport infrastructure bottlenecks in the southernmost region.
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