The nearly 111-km-long Can Tho–Ca Mau Expressway is over 58% complete after two years of construction. Contractors are working around the clock to ensure the project is ready for use by the end of December.
With a total investment of VND27.5 trillion (US$1.1 billion) from the state budget, the project is managed by the My Thuan Project Management Board under the Ministry of Transport.
Pictured is the project's starting point in Can Tho City.
This is the final section of the expressway project running from Ho Chi Minh City to Ca Mau, Vietnam's southernmost province.
The expressway stretches nearly 38 km from Can Tho to Hau Giang and over 73 km from Hau Giang to Ca Mau. It passes through Can Tho City and the Mekong Delta provinces of Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau, with a cross-sectional width of 17 meters.
The 38-km-long Can Tho–Hau Giang Expressway, with an investment of over VND10 trillion, has reached more than 64% completion.
Pictured is a section passing through Vi Thuy District in Hau Giang Province.
"Contractors are working on a 20-km stretch of the expressway that includes 20 bridges. So far, beam installation has been completed on 18 bridges, and all bridges are scheduled for completion by the end of March," said Nguyen Thanh Vinh, Deputy CEO of the Truong Son Nam Management Board under Truong Son Corporation.
He added that work continued throughout the Tet holiday, with around 150 workers and engineers on-site.
Construction workers are preparing the road foundation for the expressway in Phung Hiep District, Hau Giang Province.
Workers are building a bridge near the intersection of the expressway with National Route 61 in Phung Hiep District, Hau Giang Province.
Workers lay asphalt concrete on the first 500 meters of the Can Tho–Ca Mau Expressway.
This is the final section of an only expressway connecting the Mekong Delta with HCMC, as well as the rest of the country.
In 2010, the 40-km HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway, the country's first expressway, was built. It reduced travel time from HCMC to Tien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta from 90 to 30 minutes, easing traffic on National Highway 1A.
However, it took another 12 years to extend the expressway by 51 km, known as the Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway. This is extended by another 23 km with the My Thuan–Can Tho Expressway, which was put into traffic in 2023.
The project requires 18 million cubic meters of fill sand, but a shortage of river sand has caused delays.
Since June last year, sea sand has been used to fill the expressway’s foundation, effectively addressing the material shortage. The sand is sourced offshore from Soc Trang Province, washed multiple times, rigorously tested for salt content to avoid damage to fields along the road, and transported over 160 km to the construction site.
The 73-km-long Hau Giang–Ca Mau section, with an investment of VND17 trillion, is now more than 55% complete.
Tran Van Thi, director of the My Thuan Project Management Board, said that to meet the project's deadline, most contractors are working continuously through the Tet holiday.
"“Currently, 2,881 personnel—including foremen, engineers, officials, and workers—along with 926 pieces of machinery are being deployed around the clock to keep the project on track," Thi said.
Key construction tasks include road foundation work, embankment filling, curb and parapet construction, piling, beam installation, and concrete deck pouring.
