Promise of traffic connection

Traffic in An Giang province is gradually improving, but not yet synchronously

Central support

Chau Phu district has National Highway 91 passing through which is more than 30km long and the concrete road surface is 9 – 11m wide. This is a unique and vital traffic route, connecting Long Xuyen and Chau Doc urban areas; is an important transport route connecting the province An Giang with City. Can Tho, Kien Giang province, border provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Therefore, vehicle traffic on Highway 91 is increasing, with frequent traffic jams and traffic accidents, especially the section passing Cai Dau town (Chau Phu district).

The road surface is narrow, the load capacity is limited, and does not meet the increasing demand for travel and goods transportation of the people. The province proposes to the Central Government to approve the policy and support the province to invest in building the Cai Dau – Vinh Thanh Trung urban bypass, 9.5km long, 12m wide, with a total cost of nearly 1,500 billion VND.

In August 2023, the Ministry of Transport agreed on the need to invest in a road parallel to National Highway 91, connecting Provincial Road 945 with 947. The project will gradually complete traffic infrastructure in Cai Dau town, Ho Chi Minh City. Vinh Thanh Trung town, reducing traffic on Highway 91.

The Ministry of Transport requested the People’s Committee of An Giang province to direct specialized agencies and closely coordinate with the Vietnam Road Administration (the agency being assigned to develop specialized technical planning) to plan and plan appropriate routes. , ensuring synchronization and consistency between planning at all levels, serving as a basis for project investment when capital is allocated. The Ministry of Transport supports capital support for the project and will coordinate closely with the Provincial People’s Committee, relevant ministries and branches to research and propose appropriate investment plans.

Going upstream, the Tan Chau – Hong Ngu bridge is an urgent need of An Giang and Dong Thap provinces, helping to clear National Highway N1. According to planning, National Highway N1 is 235km long, level III – IV road, 2 – 4 lanes; The section through An Giang province is about 53km long. Currently, only the section from Chau Doc – Ha Tien is invested according to planning, the rest is not exploited continuously, on the basis of taking advantage of local roads, on a small scale.

The Ministry of Transport agreed on the need to establish an investment project to build Tan Chau – Hong Ngu bridge. However, due to difficulties in balancing resources, the Ministry of Transport has not been able to arrange investment in bridge construction as proposed by voters in An Giang province. In the immediate future, the unit coordinates closely with the Provincial People’s Committee, ministries and branches to jointly develop and propose plans to allocate appropriate capital sources and soon implement the project.

Promoting local internal resources

According to the Road Network Planning for the period 2021 – 2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister, Provincial Roads 942, 954, 953 passing through Dong Thap and An Giang provinces were upgraded to National Highway 80B (bridge point). in Sa Dec city, Dong Thap province; end point at Vinh Xuong border gate, An Giang province), total length 120km, level III scale, 2 – 4 lanes.

Clause 4, Section III, Article 1 of Decision 1454/QD-TTg, dated September 1, 2021 of the Prime Minister stipulates: “Local roads planned to become national highways in this decision will only be upgraded to national highways”. After being invested, the road must ensure the scale of technical standards according to planning and is not lower than the scale of a level IV, 2-lane road.

“Therefore, it is recommended that the People’s Committee of An Giang province mobilize local resources, invest in upgrading and expanding provincial roads, ensuring the criteria for upgrading to national highways. After completion, the Provincial People’s Committee directs relevant units to complete the documents, send them to the Ministry of Transport, and coordinate to complete asset transfer procedures. After receiving assets, the Ministry of Transport will announce National Highway 80B according to planning; Consider investing, upgrading and expanding at the appropriate time” – Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang affirmed.

Back to the story of National Highway 91. This is an inter-regional connection route, participating in international transport with Cambodia, Dong Thap province, Kien Giang through Chau Doc bridge and National Highway N1. The section through An Giang province is 93km long. Particularly the section passing through the city’s inner city. Long Xuyen (from km51 – km67) is entrusted with management by the Department of Transport (will be adjusted into a local road, assigned to the Provincial People’s Committee to manage, after the Long Xuyen city bypass is completed and put into operation). On March 3, 2021, the Provincial People’s Committee would like to take over management of the entire 93km of National Highway 91.

At the end of 2021, the Ministry of Transport responded: “The remaining section (more than 80km) is the main national highway in the Southern region, there is no plan to invest in a replacement parallel route. Vietnam Road Administration is assigning Road Management Department IV to directly manage. The unit is reviewing and synthesizing content related to decentralization and decentralization. The local proposal will be evaluated by the Ministry of Transport for impact in the overall project, implemented synchronously, ensuring work efficiency and matching the capacity of relevant units in the locality.

In early September 2023, continuing to respond to the proposal of the People’s Committee of An Giang province on this content, the Ministry of Transport said that currently, the Government assigns the People’s Committees of An Giang, Kien Giang, Soc Trang and City. Can Tho is the investor of the Chau Doc – Can Tho – Soc Trang expressway.

When the route is put into operation as a horizontal highway, reducing transport pressure on National Highway 91, the Ministry of Transport will proactively research and coordinate with the People’s Committee of An Giang province to consider and handle this recommendation, on basis for improving state management efficiency, consistent with the capacity of local road management agencies.

GIA KHANH