Of these, 5 are previously operated temporary rest stops, 3 are newly put into operation temporary rest stops, and the rest are fully operated rest stops.

People returning to their hometowns and enjoying the spring festival have breathed a sigh of relief as pairs of rest stops on the highway have been put into temporary service. These rest stops will meet essential needs such as parking, restrooms, fast food areas, etc.

Will operate 12 rest stops and temporary stations

According to the Vietnam Expressway Administration, due to difficulties in site clearance, in addition to the 5 temporary rest stops currently in operation on the North-South Expressway, it is expected that during the 2025 Lunar New Year, there will be 2 more temporary rest stops with essential constructions (restrooms, parking lots).

At the same time, it is expected to put into operation a temporary station on Nghi Son - Dien Chau highway to ensure an average distance of about 60km/station, basically meeting the needs of vehicles.

Currently, from Hanoi to the South along the North-South Expressway, vehicles traveling about 50km from Phap Van will encounter the first rest stop at Km227 of Cau Gie - Ninh Binh Expressway (Ha Nam province).

Next, 53km to the South, there will be Xuan Khiem rest stop (in Ninh Binh city) on the Cao Bo - Mai Son highway. These are two rest stops with full facilities.

Go another 60km and there will be a rest stop at Km329+700 Mai Son Expressway - National Highway 45. After the next 37km, there will be a rest stop at Km336 on National Highway 45 - Nghi Son Expressway.

Next, 61km later, the relevant units have added a temporary stop at Km427 Nghi Son - Dien Chau highway to exploit before Tet. From here, vehicles traveling 51km to the South will have a temporary rest stop at Km478 Dien Chau - Bai Vot highway before continuing the journey on National Highway 1.

In total, this Tet, the highway from Hanoi to Ha Tinh has 6 rest stops, including 2 full stations and 4 temporary stations (on the highways: Mai Son - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot).

For the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, after leaving Ho Chi Minh City, the car can stop at the rest stop at Km41+100 on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay highway.

After another 54km, there will be a temporary rest stop at Km47 Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway (expected to be operational from January 20). After the next 77km, there will be a temporary rest stop at Km205 Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway (expected to be operational from January 20).

Another 61km will have a rest stop at Km144 Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet highway. The next 54km will have a rest stop at Km90 Cam Lam - Vinh Hao highway, and another 57km will have a rest stop at Km33 Nha Trang - Cam Lam highway.

Thus, it is expected that the highway from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang will have 1 full rest stop and 5 temporary rest stops during this Tet holiday.

With 3 previously operated rest stops and temporary rest stops for the 2025 Lunar New Year, the average distance between rest stops on the North-South Expressway is about 60km/station, basically meeting the needs of vehicles.

Slow completion of rest stop due to land and procedure problems

According to the Vietnam Expressway Administration, 21 rest stops are currently being deployed for the North-South Expressway component projects in the Eastern phase of the 2017-2020 and 2021-2025 phases.

8 rest stops on newly put into operation expressways including: Mai Son - National Highway 45, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot, Nha Trang - Cam Lam, Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet (2 stations), Phan Thiet - Dau Giay have selected investors, signed contracts with the Department of Expressways in August 2024. Rest stop investors have paid more than 975 billion VND to the state budget.

However, by the end of December 2024, only 3 stations at Mai Son - National Highway 45, Dien Chau - Bai Vot and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet (Km205 + 092) expressways have been handed over with all basic land areas eligible for implementation.

There are 2 stations at Nghi Son - Dien Chau and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressways that have had their land partially handed over; 3 stations at Nha Trang - Cam Lam, Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet (Km144+560) have not had their land handed over by the local authorities.

With the above situation, the two rest stops at Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressway (Km205+092) and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay (Km47) must be constructed in the spirit of running and queuing at the same time to complete part of the essential public service works (restrooms, parking lots) before Lunar New Year 2025.

Due to difficulties in site clearance and the inability to fully complete essential public services of the eight rest stops before the 2025 Lunar New Year, on December 20, the Ministry of Transport issued a dispatch directing investors to take over the previous temporary rest stops.

At the same time, the ministry requested and added 1 temporary station (at Km427 Nghi Son - Dien Chau highway) to be completed before January 20, 2025 to serve people during Tet 2025.

According to the Expressway Department, the first difficulty in investing in rest stops is site clearance. In fact, by the end of December 2024, there are still 5 stations that have not yet or have only partially been handed over the site.

The second problem is about procedures. According to regulations, to implement the construction of a rest stop, investors must complete the procedures for approving the investment project and design after the basic design.

However, the work of preparing environmental impact assessments takes a lot of time. In fact, some stations have completed their documents but have not been approved, so there is not enough basis to approve the project for implementation.

In addition, the Petrolimex joint venture investor that won the bid for the four rest stops is a state-owned enterprise and must carry out open bidding procedures to select a consulting contractor and a construction contractor according to the provisions of the Bidding Law.

Therefore, even though the station has been handed over the site, this investor is still temporarily exploiting it and cannot construct it because there is no contractor.

The Dau Giay - Vinh Hao section has a temporary rest stop, serving from January 20.

On the eastern section of the North-South Expressway, during the previous Tet holiday, people driving on the 200km-long expressway from Vinh Hao to Dau Giay were left "half-crying, half-laughing" when there was no place to stop and rest.

This awkward situation has led to locals opening their own shops on both sides of the highway. Drivers risk their lives by stopping their vehicles in vacant lots to relieve themselves and eat.

Vehicles constantly pull in and out, causing safety risks, littering, damaged traffic cones, and loss of aesthetics... This year's Tet, that urgent need is partly met as rest stops are sprinting towards the finish line.

In recent days, Tuoi Tre reporters have returned to record the temporary rest stops on the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressways, busy installing lights, asphalt carpets, cleaning, arranging sales areas... to promptly put them into service for the people.

Authorities have granted temporary connection permits from the main route to the project, and placed speed limit signs when passing through here.

Sharing at the construction site, the representative of the contractor building the temporary stop at the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway said that in recent days, they have had to mobilize workers to work 24/7. According to this representative, the biggest difficulty is the slow acceptance of the site. Furthermore, the station is far from residential areas, so the electricity and water system must be arranged for a long time.

This temporary rest stop project is built on a land area of ​​about 2 hectares for each side, at Km47+500, the border section of Binh Thuan and Dong Nai provinces. Driving from Ho Chi Minh City, passing the toll station on the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay highway for about 50km, you will reach this station.

According to the Thang Long Project Management Board, the land for this temporary rest stop was arranged when the main Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway was built. Due to the regulations for building express rest stops later changing, the area and scale were expanded (5ha for each side).

Currently, the remaining land has not been handed over and construction procedures have not been completed, so the investor has built a temporary rest stop in advance to serve the essential needs of the people.

This temporary structure will have a parking lot, toilets, food court... Each station can accommodate about 300 cars and 5,000 people at the same time.

From the above rest stop, drive about 70km further north to reach the station located at Km205 of Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet highway, Ham Thuan Bac district, Binh Thuan province. Similarly, this is also a temporary project, serving the essential needs of the people.

Mr. Pham Quoc Huy, executive director of the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressway project, said that when this station is put into operation, it will replace the station located at Km199 on the left side of the route.

According to Mr. Huy, this temporary rest stop will operate until an official rest stop is built. When the official rest stop is completed, it will have full services such as refueling, charging, accommodation, dining area and toilets...

In the planning of the rest stop system, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressway will have two locations in the future. In addition to the pair of rest stops at Km205, this expressway will have another pair planned to be built at Km144, Phong Phu commune, Tuy Phong district, Binh Thuan province. Currently, this location is completing land procedures to hand over the site to the investor.

A working group from the Vietnam Expressway Administration has just coordinated to inspect the current status and progress of temporary rest stops on the eastern sections of the North-South Expressway to finalize the completion date for service to the public from January 20.

Pay attention to refueling and charging

At the above temporary rest stops, only essential needs such as parking, restrooms, and fast food are served. There are no fuel and charging stations.

Therefore, the investor representative recommends that people should refuel and charge their batteries fully before entering the highway. In addition, people can move to intersections and rest stops on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay highway to refuel.

However, recently this rest stop has been overloaded many times, with people lining up to use the restroom, especially during major holidays.