Minister Minh highlighted that one of the ministry’s major achievements was its successful coordination with other ministries, agencies, and localities to organize groundbreaking and inauguration ceremonies for 80 projects in celebration of the 50th anniversary of National Reunification. Four sections of the North–South Expressway totaling 221 kilometers have been opened to traffic, bringing the total length of expressways nationwide to 2,242 kilometers. The main span of the Rach Mieu 2 Bridge has also been successfully joined.

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh delivers a directive speech, emphasizing the need to accelerate progress on national expressway projects and resolve delays in locally managed components.

The Minister urged contractors and project stakeholders to intensify efforts by maintaining “three shifts, four crews” on construction sites. The ultimate goal, he stressed, is to open the expressway from Cao Bang to Ca Mau by the end of 2025 as directed by the Prime Minister.

“To achieve this, we must urgently address bottlenecks, especially at the 11 component projects assigned to local authorities, which are lagging with just 40% completion. In contrast, ministry-managed projects have already reached 80%”, he said. “If we accomplish this, Vietnam will have over 3,300 kilometers of expressway by year’s end”.

Minister Minh directed Deputy Ministers to closely oversee key national projects such as the 3,000 km expressway system, Long Thanh International Airport, and the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway, which is expected to begin construction in 2025. He also called for expedited procedures to create necessary preconditions for launching new strategic projects.

In terms of cost norms and unit pricing, the Minister instructed relevant departments to study international standards and adapt them to Vietnam’s conditions. All provisional estimates must be finalized, and items lacking unit prices must be reviewed and added to ensure proper cost settlement in line with regulations.

He also emphasized that disbursement should be treated as a top political task. Heads of units must proactively develop and implement solutions that push progress from construction sites to internal administrative processes.

Addressing institutional reform, Minister Minh noted that the ministry has kept pace with the legal agenda, issuing key documents as planned. Looking ahead, the ministry will focus on revising seven laws, approximately 30 decrees, and more than 100 circulars related to planning, construction, and architecture.

He underscored that legal documents must be clear, easy to understand, and aligned with real-world conditions. Emphasis will be placed on decentralization, clarification of authority in the legal system, and introducing special mechanisms for sub-regional planning, particularly for dynamic urban areas undergoing administrative reorganization under the new two-tier local government model.