On the afternoon of November 6, participating in the questioning of the Minister of Transport, delegate Nguyen Van Manh (Vinh Phuc delegation) emphasized that according to Resolution 100 of the National Assembly, the requirement is to conduct a comprehensive assessment and invest in research to upgrade the expressways that have been invested in according to the scale of 2-lane or 4-lane divergence without emergency lanes into car roads in accordance with the expressway design standards as prescribed.

"I would like to ask the Minister to let us know whether investing in some expressways without emergency lanes is suitable for expressway standards and what the Ministry's solution will be in the near future?", Mr. Manh questioned.

Responding, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang said that it is very difficult to complete the investment in the expressway in the context of limited resources. Many countries also have to carry out investment phases with expressway routes. The Ministry of Transport also carries out investment phases to ensure meeting requirements in the context of limited resources.

According to Mr. Thang, the Ministry of Transport prioritizes investment in completing expressway sections with high transport demand; and invests in phases for routes with low transport demand.

The Minister affirmed that there is only a divergence in cross-section width, while other highway standards must still be ensured.

Debating with the Minister of Transport, delegate Hoang Duc Thang (Quang Tri delegation) said that he had spoken about the Cam Lo - Tuy Loan route at the recent socio-economic discussion session (November 1) and affirmed that this was a real event.

Sharing with the Minister, delegate Hoang Duc Thang said that the main responsibility for this issue does not lie with the Ministry, but it is necessary to raise the issue that this is a 2-lane highway that has not been cleared yet. Therefore, in the second phase of expansion, it must be implemented with certainty, which will cause waste and huge costs of national resources.

The delegate requested the Minister to review this issue and advise the Government to urgently carry out site clearance and upgrade this route.

In response, the Minister of Transport said that the Cam Lo - La Son section is a public investment, with 2 lanes in some places and 4 lanes in others; the La Son - Tuy Loan section is a BT project, with only 2 lanes.

Currently, the La Son – Tuy Loan section has also completed land clearance. In the coming time, the Ministry of Transport, based on the budget and traffic volume, will consult and propose to expand these two routes.

Speaking further about the design of a two-lane highway without an emergency lane, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said: “We don’t have much capital, so it is right to divide the investment into phases, but the investment phase must ensure the minimum to ensure traffic safety.” The National Assembly Chairman asked the Ministry of Transport to consider this.

The National Assembly Chairman cited some recently completed North-South expressway sections such as Cao Bo - Thanh Hoa, Thanh Hoa - Dien Chau, where observations showed that the number of vehicles participating in traffic was very low, the maximum speed was only 80km/h and there was no emergency lane, so just one vehicle accident would cause a traffic jam. "This is a reality that needs to be considered," said the National Assembly Chairman .