The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway project in southern Vietnam requires an additional VND3.674 trillion (US$152.9 million) for site clearance, driving up its total investment, according to the Ministry of Transport. 

The ministry has reported this cost overrun facing phase one of the expressway project, which will link Dong Nai Province with neighboring Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, to a working delegation of the lawmaking National Assembly.

Of the cost overrun, the first subproject needs an extra VND1.195 trillion ($49.7 million), while the second and third subprojects require over VND1.488 trillion ($61.9 million) and VND989 billion ($41.1 million), respectively. 

Therefore, the total investment of the project needs to be revised up, the ministry said.

Work on these subprojects began concurrently on June 18 this year.

Up to now, the handover of cleared land for the third subproject, located in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, has reached some 77 percent of the target, while that for the second one has been a mere 5.82 percent and no cleared land is available for the first one.

The slow site clearance was caused by an inadequate number of personnel in charge of the site clearance work, compensation plans yet to be approved, and the troubled withdrawal of some land lots.

Moreover, some resettlement areas to house people affected by the project have not been built, making site clearance impossible to be done in 2023.

The transport ministry proposed the National Assembly delegation work with the administration of Dong Nai to take measures to remove obstacles hindering the site clearance.

The 53.7km-long Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway project, divided into three components, initially carried a price tag of VND17.829 trillion ($739.7 million).

The route is expected to open to traffic in 2026.

The Dong Nai administration was assigned to take charge of the first component, which measures some 16 kilometers long.

The transport ministry is responsible for the second component, whose total length is roughly 18.2 kilometers, and the provincial administration of Ba Ria - Vung Tau was told to develop the third component.

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