Binh Thuan (VNA) – Two sectionsof the eastern North - South Expressway, Mai Son - National Highway 45 and PhanThiet - Dau Giay, were inaugurated on April 29.

The inauguration ceremony of the PhanThiet - Dau Giay section was held in the south-central province of Binh Thuan inthe presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The event for the Mai Son -National Highway 45 one took place in the north-central province of Thanh Hoaand was attended by Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha. The two events were connected viavideoconference.

According to the Ministry ofTransport, the Mai Son - National Highway 45 section is 63.37km long in total,including 14.35km in northern Ninh Binh province and 49.02km in Thanh Hoa, andinvested with over 12 trillion VND (511.4 million USD). It had constructionstarted in September 2020 and was technically opened to traffic in December2022.

The 99km-long Phan Thiet - Dau Giay section,traversing Binh Thuan and southern Dong Nai province, has total investment ofmore than 12.5 trillion VND. This project also kicked off in September 2020.

In his speech, PM Chinh stressed thatdeveloping infrastructure, especially transport one, is a strategicbreakthrough identified by the Party and State.

Vietnam targets 3,000km and 5,000km ofexpressways by 2025 and 2030, respectively. Meanwhile, only about 1,000km wasbuilt between 2000 and 2020. Therefore, the remaining workload is extremelyheavy, he pointed out.

As the North - South corridor alwaysplays a critically important role as it serves as the economic and transport arteryof the country, the eastern North - South Expressway with the total length of2,063km was planned to create momentum for localities along this corridorto make breakthroughs and tap into their potential and advantages.

The expressway, starting in thenorthern border province of Lang Son and ending in the southernmost province ofCa Mau, will run through 32 provinces and cities. With the inauguration of thetwo new sections, 800km of this road has been put into use so far, he noted.

The Government leader applauded the strongdetermination and efforts by the transport sector, ministries, centralagencies, localities, as well as affected residents to overcome difficulties toput the two projects into operation.

He also highlighted the importance ofthe Mai Son - National Highway 45 and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay sections tosocio-economic development in Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, nearbylocalities, and the country as a whole.

Also on April 29, PM Chinh inspectedthe construction progress of the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet section of the eastern North- South Expressway. The over-100km section in Binh Thuan province is investedwith nearly 11 trillion VND and had its work started in November 2020./.