On the morning of December 24, at Dien Bien Airport, Dien Bien Province, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced the inauguration and put into operation the Dien Bien Airport Expansion Investment Project; the Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho Expressway Construction Investment Project connecting with Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway; the My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Construction Investment Project; and the My Thuan 2 Bridge Construction Investment Component Project and the access roads at both ends of the bridge.

This inauguration ceremony was held in the form of online television at the main bridge in Dien Bien province, Phu Tho province, Vinh Long province, and Tien Giang province.

The total investment capital of the above 4 projects is up to nearly 18,000 billion VND. These are the last key projects of the transport sector to be inaugurated in 2023 as planned.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh cut the ribbon to inaugurate Dien Bien Airport. (Source: Investment Newspaper)

Spirit of "Dien Bien Phu"

“I was very moved to meet again the 20 Dien Bien Phu soldiers who made the historic victory 70 years ago at Dien Bien airport which has just been upgraded and can receive large aircraft. This is an event to pay tribute to previous generations,” the Prime Minister could not hide his emotion as he began his speech.

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, practice has proven that transportation in general and expressways, airports and ports in particular bring about clear effects on socio-economic development. Wherever transportation develops, new space for socio-economic development will be opened up, many urban areas, industrial parks, services and tourism areas will be formed, and land funds will be exploited effectively. In particular, it will create favorable conditions for people to travel conveniently and safely.

The inauguration of 4 major projects today has contributed to the country inaugurating and putting into operation an additional 729 km of highways in just the first half of this term, bringing the total number of highways in the country to 1,892 km and 37 projects/component projects are being implemented across the country with a total length of 1,658 km, striving to have about 3,000 km of highways nationwide by 2025.

“The simultaneous inauguration of the Dien Bien Airport Expansion Project and three expressway projects: Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho; My Thuan - Can Tho and My Thuan 2 Bridge is clear evidence of the determination of the Government and the transport sector in completing the infrastructure breakthrough goal,” said the Prime Minister.

According to the Prime Minister, the projects inaugurated today have common characteristics such as difficulties that need to be resolved, large capital scale requiring the participation of many different capital sources; fluctuations in construction material prices, even Dien Bien airport had to crush rocks to make foundation materials; construction under epidemic conditions.

“However, with great efforts, the entire political system joined in with the spirit of overcoming the sun and rain, strong will, working in 3 shifts, working through Tet… for the benefit of the nation and people, all 4 projects were completed on schedule. This has been a great inspiration and left important lessons for other projects,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed.

The special thing about these 4 projects, according to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, is that the Ministry of Transport, the State Capital Management Committee and the People's Committee of Tuyen Quang province have implemented them on schedule and with quality, successfully demonstrating the policy of decentralization to localities and mobilizing investment capital sources outside the state budget.

“I appreciate, acknowledge and commend the efforts and sense of responsibility of the Ministry of Transport, the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises, the provinces and cities assigned to implement the project, the specialized agencies under the Ministry, localities, project management boards; the authorities and people of the 6 provinces where the project passes through have made efforts in site clearance, creating all favorable conditions for the implementation of the project,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

At the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister drew six major lessons in implementing large infrastructure projects, in which each individual participating in the project needs to raise their sense of responsibility for their work, for the industry, and even more so for the people and the Fatherland; innovate their thinking, ways of thinking, and ways of doing things to successfully complete their tasks, contributing to the implementation of component projects on schedule with the spirit of "all for the people, for the strength and prosperity of the country".

The Prime Minister praised the construction units of My Thuan 2 Bridge - a large-span cable-stayed bridge designed, constructed, and organized by Vietnamese engineers, workers, and managers on a larger scale and at a cost 50% lower than the construction cost of My Thuan 1 Bridge.

“This is the result of promoting the application of science and technology to catch up with and master new technologies, demonstrating the will, intelligence and aspiration of the Vietnamese people. My Thuan 2 Bridge is the new pride of the Vietnamese construction industry,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

The Prime Minister requested localities to focus on effectively exploiting recently completed projects, promptly deploying rest stops to serve people; continue to focus on investing in improving the lives of people in project areas; carry out maintenance, repair, and completion of remaining items, including the return of public roads; make public and transparent settlements, and prevent losses...

According to Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airports Corporation - ACV, the investor of the Dien Bien Airport Expansion Construction Investment Project, although the Project is not large, with a total investment of about 1,500 billion VND, plus 1,500 billion VND for site clearance, Dien Bien province is the investor.

However, today's achievement brings great joy and pride, raising ACV's awareness in performing the tasks of a State-owned corporation playing a leading role in investing in the construction, management and exploitation of the national airport system, especially in performing assigned political tasks for airport infrastructure in remote, mountainous and island areas.

“This is also the reason why we are determined to complete the project in exactly 14 months, ahead of schedule compared to the original plan, to put the project into operation soon, creating the premise for connecting Dien Bien with other localities and the world by air. ACV will bring the Dien Bien Phu spirit to all projects, works and tasks of the Corporation”, said Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh.

“Overcome the sun, overcome the rain, overcome challenges”

According to the Ministry of Transport, all four projects inaugurated today are of great significance in socio-economic development; attracting investment; and ensuring national security and defense.

Specifically, within 8 months, Dien Bien Airport has completed the construction of a new 2,400m runway, a 4-position aircraft parking lot and technical infrastructure works, a modern flight management system, a navigation station and flight methods using satellite technology to meet technical standards for modern aircraft such as A320, A321 and equivalent. The terminal has been upgraded to meet standards and capacity in the phase to serve 500,000 passengers/year.

The inauguration is of great significance as it is an activity to celebrate the 2024 National Tourism Year held in Dien Bien province, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory that resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world.

The Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho expressway will shorten the travel time from Hanoi to Tuyen Quang, a historic land with the Tan Trao war zone.

In the near future, the Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho expressway together with the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway will create a breakthrough in socio-economic development, promote tourism development of Tuyen Quang and Phu Tho provinces in particular and the midland and mountainous areas of the North in general; ensure national defense and security, in line with the planning and orientation of transport development of the whole country.

My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway and My Thuan 2 Bridge are the two final projects of the North - South Expressway in the East, the section from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho City, 120 km long.

The two completed projects put into operation have important significance, reducing traffic congestion, limiting traffic accidents, shortening travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho to just over 2 hours instead of 3.5 hours as present, gradually forming a complete and modern longitudinal traffic corridor of the Mekong Delta, meeting the socio-economic development requirements of the provinces of the Southwest region in general and Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap provinces in particular.

According to Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho - in his role as the standing agency of the State Steering Committee for important national transport projects, the Ministry in charge of specialized management, as well as other projects implemented in the recent past, in order to complete and put the 4 projects into operation on schedule according to the direction of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister, the relevant units have together overcome many difficulties and challenges.

In particular, it must be implemented during the period when the whole country is focusing on preventing the Covid-19 pandemic, many times of social distancing, mobilizing personnel, transporting machinery to the construction site is very difficult, officers and workers have to work and prevent the epidemic at the same time; The project passes through an area with complex terrain and geology, weak soil, requiring timely monitoring and adjustment of the design to ensure quality; fuel and material prices sometimes increase dramatically; difficulties in supplying common construction materials, dumping sites, especially sand sources in the Mekong Delta region.

Faced with that situation, the Government, the Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Ministers have paid special attention, closely, and resolutely directed ministries, branches, and localities to coordinate and remove difficulties. In addition, ministries, branches, and localities have taken action with a high sense of responsibility, resolutely, overcoming all difficulties, and thoroughly resolving issues under their authority. For many projects, the Prime Minister has directly inspected, inspected, and removed difficulties right at the construction site 4-5 times.

For the transport sector, completing projects on schedule and ensuring quality is an honor and responsibility before the Party, State and People.

From the Minister to the leaders of the Ministry, affiliated agencies, investors/project management boards, consulting units, investors/construction contractors have really taken action with determination, thoroughly grasping the Prime Minister's directive: "Once you have made an effort, then make more effort, once you have made an effort, then make more effort, once you are determined, then make even greater determination, identify the focus and key points to allocate resources to successfully achieve the set goals".

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport has launched emulation movements with the aim of both encouraging and cheering, and as a "command" for the subjects participating in the Project to strive, organize and deploy 3 shifts, 4 teams, and work through holidays and Tet. Investors have applied and resolved quickly and flexibly in applying all disbursement mechanisms to support and maintain financial capacity for contractors.

The consulting units have closely followed the site, closely monitored the construction process and quality, accelerated payment acceptance, and promptly handled adjustments and additions to the technical design. The contractors have focused on mobilizing human resources, equipment, and finance, and worked hard day and night to fulfill their emulation commitments on the progress of completing each package.

It is known that, in order to ensure the maximum investment efficiency and exploitation capacity of the Projects, the Ministry of Transport has directed investors and specialized agencies to proactively review and evaluate during the implementation of the Project and decided that the maximum operating speed of the Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho and My Thuan - Can Tho expressways is 90km/h; at the same time, to ensure the synchronous operation of the entire route from Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho, the People's Committee of Tien Giang province has also approved to increase the maximum speed of the Trung Luong - My Thuan route to 90km/h.

In addition, the Ministry of Transport is resolutely directing the Vietnam Road Administration and investors to urgently evaluate and complete documents to adjust the maximum operating speed (up to 90km/h) for the 4-lane expressways that have just been put into operation in the past, striving to complete them right before the Lunar New Year 2024.

For the My Thuan 2 Bridge Project and the My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway, due to terrain and ground conditions, the event organization will take place right on the main route; therefore, to ensure environmental sanitation, review and fully inspect safety conditions, vehicles will officially be allowed to circulate starting from 7:00 a.m. on December 25, 2023 (Monday).