Expressways of Vietnam

The Expressway network of Vietnam is a recent addition to the transport network of Vietnam. The first expressways were opened in the early-2000s, by 2020, the expressway network is expected to stretch 1276 km and plans are for over 7000 km of expressway by 2030.

Development
Expressways are a rather recent addition to the Vietnamese road network, and standardization has not been fully implemented. Ownership varies by expressway, they are financed, developed, owned and operated by either state-owned or private companies on behalf of the Ministry of Transport. For example, state-owned Vietnam Expressway Corporation owns and operates four expressways, but toll collection is done by subcontracted companies. The companies operating the expressways have to report traffic numbers and toll revenue to the Ministry of Transport and the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam. This construction has been subject of fraud investigations several times, as toll revenue was falsified by the collecting companies in order to take advantage of the difference. The government has also threatened operating companies to revoke their toll collection licence after lack of maintenance caused dangerous situations on several expressways. In 2019 it was reported that the Vietnam Expressway Corporation was $3.7 billion USD in debt, and earning $137 million in revenue each year.

The total cost of the planned expressway network is estimated at $47.9 billion. Lack of funding has been an issue throughout the development of the expressway network, with both the government and private investors having difficulty in raising the required investment costs.

In 2019, the Ministry of Transport decided to exclude foreign investors from bidding on the North-South expressway, mainly to prevent Chinese companies from participating. Public backslash – due to strong anti-Chinese sentiment in the country – was feared if Chinese companies would collect toll fees, as well national security concerns playing a role in this decision. However, lack of bidders has led to low competition between the bids, and two out of five sections had not attracted any bids.

In 2020, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng petitioned to the National Assembly to switch development of the remaining sections of the North–South expressway to state funding instead of build-operate-transfer contracts, in order to avoid delays in raising capital and to reduce interest amount. He noted that Chinese provinces Yunnan and Guangxi built 2000 km of expressways in three years, whereas 1300 km of planned expressway in Vietnam should have been completed decades ago. If public funding would be approved, construction on the sections Vĩnh Hảo (vi)–Phan Thiết, Mai Son (Ninh Bình)–Highway 45 (Thanh Hóa) and Phan Thiết–Dầu Giây (connection to Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh–Dau Giay Expressway) would start in 2021.

In a 2023 directive, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính instructed the Ministry of Transport to develop expressway design standards, as some of the expressways did not adhere to standards generally followed for expressways such as number of lanes, road width, operating speed and having continuous emergency lanes.

A new draft plan is for 2,542 km of new expressways to be completed before 2025 and an additional 1,339 km for before 2030.

Expressway use
Generally all cars, buses, trucks are permitted on the expressway but công nông (agricultural vehicles), motor tricycles, motorcycles, tractors and non-motorized vehicles are not.

A minimum speed of 60 km/h is generally in effect, although there are sections with a minimum speed of 80 km/h in the middle and left lanes. The maximum speed anywhere is 120 km/h, although sections with a lower maximum speed are common.