Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday chaired a conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on removing blockages to accelerate work on expressway projects and the disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) capital for the delta region.

The prime minister asked relevant ministries and departments to team up with local authorities to take some effective measures to eliminate obstacles for speeding up such key projects.

The ministries and leaders of the provinces and cities in the delta region should direct project investors to closely monitor the pace of construction, news site Chinhphu.vn reported, citing the prime minister.

PM Chinh also told the ministries and the authorities of those provinces and cities which expressway projects run across to promptly complete site clearance, handover, and resettlement processes.

Besides, the prime minister asked contractors to quickly mobilize workers and construction equipment, while ordering consulting units to regularly check the safety and quality of construction.

As for projects with uncompleted site clearance, the local People’s Committees should accelerate land clearance to hand over the cleared site to investors prior to late 2023.

Moreover, the government chief took into account the resettlement and support for affected residents, asking local authorities to create new jobs for them and ensure the quality of new accommodations for these households.

At the conference, the prime minister praised the leaders of Can Tho City and provinces in the region as well as relevant departments for their efforts in implementing these projects, addressing hindrances, and ensuring the sufficient supply of building materials over the past few years.

PM Chinh called on participating officials to put forward solutions for lifting barriers facing expressway and ODA projects in the delta.

Among the expressways that have got off the ground in the region are Chau Doc - Can Tho - Hau Giang - Soc Trang, and Cao Lanh - An Huu, while work is being sped up on the My Thuan - Can Tho, and Can Tho - Hau Giang - Soc Trang - Bac Lieu - Kien Giang - Ca Mau expressway projects, heard the conference.

The Mekong Delta region has opened to traffic 171 kilometers of expressways, while a total length of 463 kilometers of expressways in the region will be put into service in 2026.

The region will have some 554 kilometers of expressways in 2026.

Between 2021 and 2025, the delta region is developing 62 projects funded by ODA and foreign loans, but the disbursement of public investment capital and ODA loans for these projects remain low.

As of June, the region had disbursed VND154 billion (US$6.5 million) in foreign loans, with the rate of 5.34 percent, well below the national average of 15.7 percent.

At the conference, the government leader gave the nod for a plan to borrow $2.53 billion from six foreign partners to finance 16 sustainable development projects in the delta region.

The Mekong Delta region plays a strategically important role in Vietnam’s socioeconomic growth.

It is vital to invest in traffic infrastructure in the region to drive up the operation of industrial parks, create new growth space, and promote its potential, said the prime minister.

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