Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway project must be completed by December 19: PM

PM Pham Minh Chinh inspects the Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway project. (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that the Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway project must be completed by December 19, 2025 to welcome National Resistance Day, during his working trip to inspect the project on April 20.

The expressway, spanning over 110 km, connects Can Tho city with Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, and Ca Mau provinces, complemented by 25.85 km of connecting routes.

Divided into Can Tho–Hau Giang and Hau Giang–Ca Mau sections, the four-lane expressway is invested by the My Thuan Project Management Board. With an investment exceeding 27.5 trillion VND (1.1 billion USD), construction began on January 1, 2023, across four packages.

During his eighth on-site inspection, the PM directed continuous construction, including at weekends and during holidays, with workers arranged into “three shifts, four teams” to ensure both progress and quality.

At a subsequent working session with ministries, agencies, and Ca Mau authorities, he reviewed the expressway’s status, alongside other critical transport projects in the region.

The PM invoked the spirit of Reunification Day (April 30), urging ministries, agencies, and localities to act with urgency, boldness and flexibility to address infrastructure challenges in the Mekong Delta.

The PM highlighted the need to apply scientific and technological advancements to shorten construction time, ensuring safety, quality, and environmental standards.

PM Pham Minh Chinh offers encouragement to workers at the construction site. (Photo: VNA)

He said it is necessary for localities involved in the project to provide support for the project management board and contractors and for military forces to be mobilised to assist in environmental restoration efforts. The Government leader also urged the planning and building of appropriately scaled rest stops along the expressway.

In the coming period, PM Chinh instructed agencies to swiftly prepare for the second phase of the Mekong Delta expressway projects for 2026 – 2030.

He tasked the Ministry of National Defence with developing the expressway section from Ca Mau to Dat Mui and onward to Hon Khoai port along the shortest and most direct route possible. Meanwhile, Ca Mau province was assigned to carry out land clearance under a separate project, with the central government committing to cover 50% of the cost.

To support a modern, integrated logistics infrastructure system in the region, the leader directed the Ministry of Construction to expedite the design of a railway line from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho and to plan a network of inland waterway ports. Additionally, Cau Mau was instructed to accelerate the expansion and upgrade of the Ca Mau airport to accommodate larger aircraft, with the work set to be completed within this year./.