The Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee has just asked related localities to co-operate with the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to study the land use change for the project and report to the committee before October 15.
According to local authorities, the 70-km section of the expressway running through Binh Dinh's Phu My District is facing slow progress due to site clearance issues.
During a visit to the province in late April, PM Pham Minh Chinh asked local authorities to try to complete the construction of the section by June 2025.
According to the review by the Ministry of Transport, seven provinces have forest land that needs to be converted to serve the North-South Expressway in 2021-2025, including Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been focusing on examining and reviewing the status of forests that need to be converted to to ensure consistent data and locations for publication.
Accordingly, the converted forests are mainly low economic value forests of acacia, eucalyptus and coconut, so the land conversion does not affect the National Forest Development Strategy and minimises the impact on forests, reservoirs and electric 500kV transmission lines.
The North-South Expressway project has a total length of about 729km, passing through 12 provinces and cities, with a total preliminary investment of nearly VND147 trillion of public investment.
The highways are expected to be completed in 2025 and put into operation in 2026.
