According to Dantri reporters, construction of the Hoa Lu Boulevard project has largely been completed and the road is already in use. The contractor is finishing several ancillary works before the investor formally hands the project over to the management unit.
While handover procedures are under way, residents have begun growing pineapples within the central reservation and along both sides of the nearly VND 2 trillion (USD 78 million) boulevard.
In sections passing through Phu Long and Cuc Phuong Communes, residents have levelled the ground and planted pineapples. The entire central reservation in one section has been turned into a pineapple field, with the plants now growing well and nearing fruiting.
The Hoa Lu Boulevard project was substantially completed and has been in use for more than a year (Photo: Thai Ba).
Residents have also expanded cultivation to the roadside corridors.
Along one stretch, newly planted pineapple seedlings cover hundreds of metres of roadside land, extending more than five metres in width. The largest area of cultivation is in Phu Thinh Village, Phu Long Commune.
Residents tend pineapple plants in the central reservation of the VND 2 trillion/USD 76.9 million road (Photo: Thai Ba).
In response, the project investor issued a document in late 2025 asking local authorities in the project area and the construction contractor to take action.
The investor said residents' unauthorised ploughing, planting and cultivation within the project boundaries violated regulations and laws on protecting transport infrastructure. Such activities could obstruct drainage in the central reservation, affect construction quality and pose risks to traffic safety.
The central reservation and both roadside corridors along more than 1 kilometre of the route have been turned into residents' pineapple fields (Photo: Thai Ba).
The investor asked the Phu Long Commune People's Committee to instruct households growing pineapples in the central reservation to clear the crops and restore the land for the project.
However, 10 months after the request was issued, no action had been taken and the cultivated area had continued to expand.
Newly planted pineapple shoots put in by residents had yet to take root (Photo: Thai Ba).
Speaking to Dantri, Dang Huu Truong, deputy director of Ninh Binh Province's Construction Investment Project Management Board 1, which is the project investor, said the agency was aware of the situation and had requested action, but the issue remained unresolved.
The investor will continue sending written requests to the contractor and local authorities to deal thoroughly with the encroachment and unauthorised cultivation within the project boundaries, he said.
The pineapple fields are thriving and nearing fruiting after residents planted them in the road's central reservation months ago (Photo: Thai Ba).
The Hoa Lu Boulevard project is nearly 23 kilometres long and has four lanes. The section from the starting point to the intersection with the North-South Expressway is being built with eight lanes.
It is currently the largest inter-regional transport project in Ninh Binh Province, connecting with major national and regional transport routes.