The updated plan adds five expressways, revises several existing routes and transfers management of 36 national highways to local authorities.
The five new expressways are the Northern Mountain Ring Road, the Northern Midlands Ring Road, the Ha Tinh-Cau Treo Expressway, the Hue-A Luoi Expressway and the Phan Thiet-Bao Loc-Gia Nghia-Bu Prang Expressway.
The eastern North-South Expressway will stretch about 2,158 km from Huu Nghi border gate in Lang Son Province to Dat Mui in Ca Mau Province, while the western route will run about 1,249 km from Tuyen Quang Province to An Giang Province.
The plan includes 15 expressways spanning about 2,842 km in northern Vietnam, 14 covering 1,746 km in the central and Central Highlands regions, and 10 stretching about 1,385 km in the south.
The plan also retains three ring roads around Hanoi, with a combined length of about 427 km, and two around Ho Chi Minh City stretching about 299 km.
Several of the newly added routes are scheduled for investment after 2030, although sections considered more urgent may be prioritised earlier.
A key change allows provincial governments to bring forward projects originally scheduled for after 2030 if they can secure funding and take responsibility for investment efficiency.
Nguyen Thanh Hoai, deputy director of the Vietnam Road Administration, said the revised plan would serve as the basis for mobilising investment, improving regional connectivity and linking economic centres, border gates, seaports and airports.
Authorities urged ministries and local governments to incorporate the revised plan into provincial planning, protect land reserved for transport infrastructure and prioritise regional connectivity projects.
