Upon completion, the Huu Nghi-Chi Lang expressway will connect with the Dong Dang-Tra Linh and Bac Giang-Lang Son expressways, forming a strategic transportation corridor connecting the northeastern region, facilitating the flow of goods across the Vietnam-China border, and promoting border trade economic development.
70-30 Capital Mechanism
At the meeting of the State Steering Committee on key projects in the transport sector held on March 9th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh continued to assign Lang Son province the task of completing the procedures for adjusting the investment policy this March, increasing the proportion of state budget capital participating in the project to 70%. The Ministry of Finance was tasked with guiding Lang Son province in carrying out the procedures to accelerate progress. In case the project requires additional budget capital, the Government will balance support to ensure the goal of opening the route in 2025.
According to transportation experts, the policy of increasing the state's capital participation in the project helps to resolve obstacles in capital mobilization on one hand, and on the other hand, creates incentives to attract investors and promote the mobilization of additional resources for projects through public-private partnerships (PPP). Specifically, Huu Nghi-Chi Lang Expressway Joint Stock Company (the investor) signed a credit agreement worth VND 2,500 billion with Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank ( TPBank ) on February 10th, contributing to accelerating construction progress and ensuring the financial feasibility of the project.
Previously, during his working visit to Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces late last year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed in principle to apply the 70-30 capital mechanism (70% state capital, 30% capital mobilized by investors) to the Huu Nghi-Chi Lang expressway project, as proposed by the People's Committee of Lang Son province. The Prime Minister instructed that during the project implementation, if any legal obstacles arise, the Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation should submit a written report to the Chairman of the National Assembly and propose solutions to the Prime Minister for timely resolution.
According to Mr. Luong Trong Quynh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son province, the provincial government has committed to completing land clearance by March 2025 and has requested the Government and the Ministry of Finance to consider issuing guiding documents to concretize the policy of increasing the state capital participation rate in the project to 70%.
Hand over a clean site, and proceed with construction quickly.
The Friendship-Chi Lang Expressway project is 60km long with a total investment of over 11,000 billion VND. Since the project commenced in April 2024, local authorities and units in Lang Son province have handed over 448 out of a total of 557.82 hectares (equivalent to 76.35% of the land area); of which, more than 410.5 hectares are ready for construction. However, some areas still face land-related issues due to overlapping land areas already paid for in 2018 with newly added land.
Furthermore, along the route, there are many locations where people plant perennial trees on production forest land, making compensation difficult due to the difference in unit prices between land for perennial trees and production forest land (a difference of about 15-20 times). Given this situation, the People's Committee of Lang Son province has proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment provide guidance on how to handle this issue soon.
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The contractors involved in the project have requested that Lang Son province promote and encourage residents to agree to and accept compensation based on the provisional decision, in order to expedite the approval of the compensation and resettlement support plan. |
According to statistics, the Friendship-Chi Lang Expressway project requires the relocation of nearly 430 households, but many resettlement areas have not yet completed the necessary procedures. Lang Son City already has two resettlement areas ready, while the districts of Chi Lang, Cao Loc, and Van Lang are still in the process of approval and contractor selection.
To expedite land clearance, the project contractors have requested that the Lang Son provincial government implement measures to encourage residents to agree to and accept compensation based on the provisional assessment, in order to quickly finalize the approval of the compensation and resettlement plan. At the same time, the contractors also requested that the province simultaneously carry out and complete the relocation of technical infrastructure such as electricity and telecommunications by the first quarter of 2025.
During his inspection and meeting on March 8th to discuss solutions to address obstacles in key highway projects in the northern mountainous region, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son acknowledged and highly appreciated the determination of localities, investors, and contractors in implementing key transportation projects in the area. The Deputy Prime Minister requested the People's Committee of Lang Son province to direct relevant agencies and units to complete the relocation of technical infrastructure by March 2025. At the same time, the province needs to develop a plan for temporary housing for residents during the construction of the resettlement area to ensure the complete handover of the land to the contractor for construction according to schedule.
Mr. Nguyen Tan Dong, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deo Ca Group (representing the project investor), emphasized that investors and contractors are closely coordinating to support localities in accelerating the land clearance process, especially at points with remaining obstacles on the Dong Dang-Tra Linh and Huu Nghi-Chi Lang expressways. Construction is being carried out flexibly; wherever land is available, contractors immediately increase personnel and machinery, working diligently in "three shifts, four teams," taking advantage of favorable weather before the rainy season, especially on critical sections of the project. This contributes to realizing the Government's goal of opening the expressway from Cao Bang to Ca Mau in 2025.
To complete the enormous remaining workload in less than 10 months, the Deputy Prime Minister resolutely requested localities to implement various solutions to expedite compensation, land clearance, and handover of "clean" land to the construction contractors. In addition, contractors need to focus maximum resources, machinery, and equipment, and work overtime to compensate for delays and ensure the project is open to traffic before December 31, 2025. "Local authorities need to coordinate with investors to review project funding, study investment options for rest stops, automated toll collection (ETC) systems, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS), ensuring the quality of the project when put into operation," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/lang-son-rot-rao-ban-giao-mat-bang-sach-cho-du-an-huu-nghi-chi-lang-post864668.html
