Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway expansion proposed
VIDIFI has proposed increasing the scale of the entire Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway from 6 traffic lanes to 8 – 10 ones.
Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment JSC. (VIDIFI) has sent a document to the Ministry of Construction proposing enlargement of the Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway, code CT05, to meet rapidly growing traffic demand.
VIDIFI proposes upgrading the entire expressway from 6 traffic lanes and 2 emergency stopping lanes to 8 – 10 traffic lanes and two emergency stopping ones along its full length of 105 km.
The Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway was synchronously built and put into operation in 2015, in line with the Road Network Plan for the 2021 – 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, at a scale of 6 traffic lanes and an investment schedule before 2030.
The route significantly shortens travel time between Ha Noi and Hai Phong and effectively connects with major transport axes such as the Hai Phong – Ha Long – Van Don – Mong Cai expressway, Tan Vu – Lach Huyen – Cat Ba road, and the connecting road to the Cau Gie – Ninh Binh expressway.
After 10 years of operation, traffic volume on the Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway has increased sharply, from about 18,000 passenger car units per day in 2016 to around 65,000 vehicles per day at present, more than 3.6 times higher. Despite this growth, pavement quality has been well maintained and the expressway continues to be assessed as one of the highest quality routes in the country.
According to VIDIFI, by the end of 2024, traffic volume on the route had grown by an average of more than 10% per year and reached about 90% of designed capacity, exceeding the financial forecast of the build-operate-transfer contract by 10 years. With the current scale, congestion has already occurred during holidays, the Lunar New Year, and weekends.
Meanwhile, National Highway 5, the parallel route, is also frequently overloaded, with traffic volumes about three times higher than its design capacity.
VIDIFI forecasts that traffic on the Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway will soon reach and exceed its design threshold, possibly as early as 2028, posing an urgent need for enlargement.
Hai Phong News