This is a large project with many difficulties, however, site clearance work has been carried out very well and so far there are only problems at very few points.

According to investor Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Financial Investment Corporation (Vidifi), site clearance work for phase 1 has basically been completed. Phase 2 has also reached more than 93%. If a year ago there were more than 100 points, now there are only about 20 points left. Leaders of localities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, and Hai Duong all pledged to drastically resolve remaining problems. Right in October 2012, all will be handed over to the investor and construction contractors.

Vidifi also said that the most difficult thing currently for this project is the source of materials. Due to the long distance and very large volume, up to about 40 million tons, bringing enough to the construction site is not simple. The investor will try to make arrangements to completely resolve this difficulty in the near future and provide enough materials for construction contractors. The project has 10 main construction packages and is currently constructing 9 packages, the remaining packages are in the bidding and contractor selection phase.

The Minister acknowledged the efforts of the Investor and localities in site clearance and project construction

Regarding the progress of the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway, Mr. Tran Xuan Sanh, Director of the Department of Construction Management and Traffic Quality, said that the 9 construction packages in the past were all slow compared to requirements. To be completed and put into operation by the end of 2014, all bidding packages need to speed up construction and soon start construction on the remaining bidding packages for synchronization. Regarding the BOT contract issue, Vidifi investor must have an investment monitoring report to transfer to the Department of Construction Management and Traffic Quality as a basis to advise the Ministry of Transport to sign an official contract.

According to Minister Dinh La Thang, the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway is a large and extremely important project. This is a common project of the whole country, not just Vidifi, so all relevant agencies and units of the transport sector must share responsibility. In the beginning, project implementation encountered many difficulties, especially in site clearance work. However, up to now, all localities have committed to completing it in October 2012, which is extremely positive. The Minister suggested that localities in the coming time continue to coordinate and create conditions for investors and contractors to completely clear the site, and at the same time create conditions for material sources to speed up the progress of the project. For Vidifi, the investor must be more proactive in coordinating with localities to carry out construction, and at the same time have a plan to return public infrastructure works to ensure living and traffic safety for people. Vidifi needs to proactively arrange long-term capital for the project.

Also according to Minister Dinh La Thang, in the coming time, the authorities of the Ministry of Transport need to strengthen the steering committee, and summarize and re-evaluate the pilot mechanism of the Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway Project to learn from experience in future implementation. Recalculating the total investment and estimates for the project also needs careful consideration, publicity, transparency and appraisal by a number of agencies such as the Ministry of Construction and the Vietnam Association of Bridge and Road Science and Technology.

According to Transport