Mekong Delta to have at least 300 km of expressway by 2025

Lo Te-Rach Soi expressway is open to traffic on October 15, 2020.

He made that statement in reply to a National Assembly deputy’s inquiry on measures to create breakthrough in infrastructure development in the region.

Earlier on November 9, in a Q&A session of the National Assembly on financial resources for the Mekong Delta Region, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had agreed to add about US$ 2 billion for the Mekong Delta Region to perfect rural road system in favor of economic growth.

So far, in the Mekong Delta Region, the rural road system has yet met transport demands and served for agro-forestry-fishery development potentials. There are no continuous connection with national roads and provincial roads especially in remote and far-reaching areas, requiring additional investment.

The Mekong Delta is home to around 20 million people, or a fifth of the country's population and known as Viet Nam's rice basket and aquaculture hub that supplies 90% of its annual grain exports. It is also the source of most of the nation's seafood exports.

However, the region still lags behind in terms of hard infrastructure as the region has only Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway.

To meet growing travel demand and economic development in the region known as the country’s rice basket, fruit and aquaculture hub, seven new expressways will be built in the years to come.

These seven expressways include 51km-Trung Luong-My Thuan, 23 km-My Thuan-Can Tho, 130 km-Can Tho-Ca Mau, 51-km Lo Te-Rach Soi, 26km My An-Cao Lanh, 155km-Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang and 225km-Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu.

Work on Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway has been 65% complete and it is expected to open to traffic late this year, allowing cars with under 16 seats and trucks under 2.5 tons to run during the 2021 Lunar New Year.

Lo Te- Rach Soi expressway was open to traffic on October 15, 2020 to help reducing the travel time between Vam Cong Bridge in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho and Rach Gia Town in Kien Giang Province from 2 hours to 50 minutes.

By Thuy Dung