According to the targets set by the Government and the Ministry of Transport, the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway is scheduled to open to traffic on December 31, 2023. With less than three months remaining, what measures must contractors take to ensure the project stays on schedule?
Workers busy at the construction site of the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway.
Working Up to 18 Hours a Day
At the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway construction site, reporters from Transport Newspaper observed contractors working at full speed.
According to the My Thuan Project Management Unit (PMU), contractors are mobilizing the maximum number of machinery, equipment, and manpower, organizing work in three shifts across four teams, operating day and night throughout the entire project. Taking advantage of favorable weather conditions, workers are accelerating construction of the crushed stone base layer. At the same time, hot-mix asphalt is being laid for road surface layers on sections that have completed surcharge removal and settlement monitoring.
Mr. Do Manh Hung, a technical officer of Company 98 under Truong Son Construction Corporation—responsible for 5.7 km of roadway and one bridge on the route—said that progress on assigned works has reached over 70%.
“We are striving to complete the crushed stone base layer by the end of September and hand over the project by December 31 as planned,” Hung said.
“To meet the schedule, we have increased working hours from 10 hours per day to 18 hours per day. Currently, about 200 people, including engineers, technical staff, and workers, are working on site each day,” he added.
To ensure roadbed stability, workers are measuring settlement levels.
At Package No. 1, which is 3.5 km long, Mr. Huynh Hong Son, a representative of the supervision and consulting unit, said that in recent days, taking advantage of favorable weather, contractors have mobilized additional manpower and equipment to carry out the crushed stone base works.
“With the current pace of work, the contractor will hand over the project on schedule by the end of the year,” Son said.
Completion by Year-End
Speaking with Transport Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Duc Truong, Executive Officer of the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway Project under the My Thuan PMU, said that as of mid-September, overall project progress had exceeded 68%.
More equipment and machinery have been mobilized to the site to ensure compliance with the schedule.
To date, all 15 mainline bridges and one bridge on National Highway 80 have been completed. Two overpasses have had their girders successfully launched.
Regarding road works, 17.7 out of 20 km are eligible for surcharge removal; surcharge removal has been completed on 13.83 km out of 17.7 km, and crushed stone base construction has reached 7.4 km out of 17.7 km. The final section is scheduled for surcharge removal in October.
To ensure the completion target, contractors have committed to finishing the final hot-mix asphalt layer before December 20, 2023.
“During the final asphalt paving phase, contractors and construction units will mobilize the maximum number of high-capacity machines to the site,” Mr. Truong said.
Mr. Phan Duy Lai, Deputy Director of the My Thuan PMU, noted that the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway is the final and crucial link of the more than 120 km expressway route from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho.
Once put into operation, the project will significantly reduce pressure on National Highway 1 and shorten travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho to just over two hours, compared to nearly four hours at present.
Once completed, the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway will shorten travel time between Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City by approximately two hours.
The expressway is designed with a completed cross-section meeting six-lane expressway standards. In Phase 1, the initial investment scale includes four lanes without an emergency stopping lane (with some designated emergency stopping points). The roadbed width is 17 meters, with a design speed of 80 km/h. Construction began in early 2021.
After nearly two years of implementation, about 32% of the remaining workload is left before the project is put into operation.
“With the determination of management staff, engineers, supervision consultants, workers, and laborers of the My Thuan PMU and contractors, the project will be completed by the end of this year, meeting the targets set by the Government and the Ministry of Transport,” Mr. Lai affirmed.
