Groundbreaking ceremony of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway project in Son La province.

The ceremony was Mr. Mai Van Chinh, a member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister, leaders of central ministries and branches, and leaders of Hoa Binh province.

Delegates attending the groundbreaking ceremony.

On the side of Son La province, there were Mr. Hoang Quoc Khanh, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Dinh Viet, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; former provincial leaders; members of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee; leaders of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of several departments, branches, and localities.

Mr. Le Hong Minh, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The Hoa Binh-Moc Chau expressway has a total length of about 85km, of which the section in Son La province is about 53km long and is under construction since the end of 2024; the section in Son La province is about 32.3km long, starting at km 53 in Chieng Yen commune, Van Ho district and ending at km 85+300, intersecting with National Highway 43 in Phieng Luong commune, Moc Chau district. The length of land clearance is about 34.4km, the investment phase has 02 lanes, and the land clearance scope is 4. The total investment is about 4,938 billion VND from the State budget. The implementation period is from 2023 to 2028. The expressway project through Son La province is by public investment.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Viet, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that with the determination to contribute to the completion of the goal of completing 5,000 km of expressway by 2030 set by the 13th National Party Congress and the Central Committee, in the past time, Son La province has focused on accelerating the progress of tasks to deploy the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway construction investment project in Son La province. Son La Provincial Party Committee has established a Steering Committee headed by the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to urge, lead, and direct the implementation of the project; at the same time, established support groups headed by Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee. The Steering Committee for implementing the project meets weekly to urge progress and remove difficulties and obstacles; the support groups regularly inspect the site and propose solutions for implementation. The province directed Van Ho and Moc Chau districts to actively and proactively carry out site clearance for the project to meet the project schedule; directed relevant departments, branches, and units to focus on speeding up the auction and licensing of planned soil and rock mines in the area to ensure the supply of materials for the project and save construction costs. The investor has proactively developed a Contractor Selection Plan and submitted it to the Provincial People's Committee for approval as a basis for implementation. At the same time, the investor has proactively selected the contractor according to regulations. The bidding packages for Design Survey Consulting and Mine Clearance implementation to ensure the quality and progress of the project. The bidding packages for Supervision Consulting, Construction Insurance, and Construction Packages were to be under regulations.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed that the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway project is a strategic connecting route between the Northwest region with the Northern Delta region and the capital Hanoi, a vital traffic route that shortens the distance, reduces travel time, and opens up new development space for Son La province in general and Moc Chau National Tourist Area in particular. The investment in the Project is not only the desire of the people for many years but also a vital driving force to attract investment, develop high-tech agriculture and green tourism, contribute to hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and improve the quality of the people's life; is a symbol of solidarity, determination, and aspiration of the ethnic minorities of Son La and Hoa Binh provinces; is a testament to the correct policy of the Party and State in prioritizing the development of transport infrastructure, creating momentum for socio-economic development in the Northwest region of the country.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee proposed to the Government to allow the preparation of a Pre-Feasibility Study Report for the Moc Chau - Son La City Expressway Project, about 105km long, with an estimated capital of VND 25,000 billion. When finished this project will connect the entire route from Hoa Binh - to Moc Chau - Son La City - Dien Bien, forming a crucial CT.03 expressway axis in the Northwest to have 5,000km of expressway nationwide by 2030 to approve and allocate capital to complete the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Project, the section in Son La province with a scale of 4 lanes in the period of 2026 - 2030; to pay attention to investing in the construction of inter-regional traffic routes according to the approved planning, including Son La - Yen Bai Expressway with a length of about 185km, connecting Hoa Binh - Son La Expressway with Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway and Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong high-speed railway; Son La - Thanh Hoa route with a length of about 49km, connecting Son La province and the Northwestern provinces with Thanh Hoa province and the North Central provinces

On behalf of the Joint Venture of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Project in Son La Province, Mr. Do Xuan Binh, Chairman of the Board of Members of Tu Lap Construction Company Limited, committed immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony to ensure financial resources, human resources, construction conditions on schedule and quality of the project, comply with legal regulations, social and environmental responsibilities; manage and operate the project to bring practical benefits, improve quality; ensure the project is completed and put into operation soon, assisting actual and sustainable values to society.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh assessed that the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway, the section in Son La province, is a project of strategic and key significance, contributing to connecting the Northwest region with the midlands and the Northern Delta, opening up many new development opportunities for the whole area. The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that when the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway finishing, it will be the premise for the formation of the Hanoi - Hoa Binh - Son La - Dien Bien expressway according to the approved planning, combined with the external traffic network of Son La province with Hoa Binh province and the Northwest provinces, it will form an expressway axis connecting the Northwest region with the capital Hanoi, the Northern economic region, connecting to the Northeast border gate and Lach Huyen international seaport; reducing the load on National Highway 6; facilitate trade and tourism, improve transport capacity and promote socio-economic development, ensure national defense and security in the region.

This is a breakthrough project, the result of close coordination between the Central and local levels, the drastic participation of central ministries and branches, the efforts of local authorities of Son La and Hoa Binh provinces, and the consensus and support of local people. The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the 13th National Party Congress has identified the construction of synchronous and modern infrastructure as one of the three strategic breakthroughs; the breakthrough in transportation is a crucial content with the goal that by 2030, our country will complete about 5,000km of expressway. The Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway project is a vivid demonstration of the Party and State's determination to invest in infrastructure, especially in areas with many difficulties, such as the Northwest, with the significance and importance of the project.

 The Deputy Prime Minister requested that the central ministries and branches regularly pay attention to guiding and directing the implementation of the project, promptly removing difficulties in the legal corridor, and quickly resolving work contents within their authority. Requested that Son La province focus on leading and directing the implementation of the project with the highest determination, taking drastic actions to ensure the project is completed on schedule and with quality; continue to raise awareness of responsibility to the Party, State, and People to create favorable conditions for contractors to construct the project; pay special attention to directing the best implementation of site clearance work. In addition, it is necessary to continue to pay attention to and direct the improvement of the investment and business environment, create openness, quickly resolve administrative procedures as well as difficulties and problems of enterprises in construction, and promptly report to competent authorities to handle arising problems, focus on caring for stable accommodation, arranging work and living conditions of households that have handed over land for the project; pay attention to social security and the lives of people in the project area.

Regarding the recommendations of the People's Committee of Son La province, the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged the opinions and recommendations of the province and assigned the Government Office and the Ministry of Transport to synthesize and advise on the implementation of the following steps to contribute to the completion of the goal of completing 5,000 km of expressway by 2030 set by the 13th National Party Congress and the Central Committee.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Hoang Quoc Khanh, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, affirmed the significance and importance of the project to the socio-economic development of the province, sincerely thanked the attention and direction of the Government, ministries, central branches, and the coordination and support of provinces and cities in the region in the past time. The Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee affirmed that Son La province will seriously absorb all the instructions of the Deputy Prime Minister. Son La province will concretize them into specific requirements, tasks, timelines, and responsibilities of relevant agencies, units, organizations, and individuals until the completion of the project with the highest sense of responsibility, focusing on directing, coordinating, and closely coordinating with localities, units, and investors to accelerate the project implementation progress. Immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony, the province continued closely coordinating with central ministries, branches, and contractors to ensure the project was on schedule, with quality, safety, efficiency, and environmental friendliness. Focus on site clearance, creating the most favorable conditions for investors and construction contractors to carry out construction according to schedule. Ensure security, order, and social security in the project area, and organize propaganda and mobilization so that people understand, agree, and actively participate in the project implementation process. Proactively review planning, call for investment, and prepare conditions to effectively take advantage of the development opportunities that the project brings.

Then, leaders of central ministries, departments, branches, Son La province, and neighboring provinces performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway construction investment project in Son La province.

Huong Diep

Translated by Tuan Minh Dang