Preparing material supply for two expressways in Northern Dong Nai

Besides national projects and key transport works in the South entering the “final stretch” stage, in 2025, the Northern part of Dong Nai province (formerly Binh Phuoc province) officially commenced construction on two expressways. These are large-scale infrastructure projects with high demand for construction materials.

Residents of Dong Tam commune cut trees to hand over land for the North-South Expressway project, Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh section. Photo: Xuan Tuc

To contribute to ensuring construction progress, completion, and on-schedule operation, the province is calculating material supply sources for the projects.

Demand for millions of cubic meters of construction materials

At the beginning of February 2025, construction officially started on the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway, nearly 60km long, including over 7km through Dong Nai province. The project is planned to be completed in 2027 and connect with several other national roads and expressways in the Southern and Central Highlands regions. For the province, the project will open up a socio-economic development space and ensure national defense and security in the Northern area.

Tran Trong Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment (DoAE), reported that the project requires over 970,000 cubic meters of materials, including more than 600,000 cubic meters of leveling soil, over 324,000 cubic meters of various types of stone, and 51,000 cubic meters of sand. According to Toan, the Northern area of the province currently has no licensed leveling soil mines, which may lead to shortages. Therefore, the department is reviewing and plans to use topsoil from limestone, clay, and laterite mines at Ta Thiet commune, Loc Thanh. The Provincial Construction Investment  Project Management Board is coordinating with contractors to complete procedures for supplying leveling materials under the special mechanism of Resolution 66.4/2025/NQ-CP, dated September 21, 2025, issued by the Government to remove difficulties in implementing the 2024 Geology and Minerals Law. For construction stone, the department continues to review and propose suitable extraction locations.

Construction also started at the end of September 2025 on the North-South Expressway, Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh section, with a total length of over 124km, including more than 101km through Dong Nai province. The project is not only significant for the development of Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces but also serves as a strategic connection axis, ensuring national defense and security in the Central Highlands, while closely linking to Ho Chi Minh City.

Statistics from the DoAE show that this project requires over 5.2 million cubic meters of construction materials, including about 1 million cubic meters of leveling soil, over 3.6 million cubic meters of various types of stone, and around 600,000 cubic meters of sand.

The DoEA proposed procedures for material extraction under the special mechanism of Resolution 66.4/2025/NQ-CP. Specifically, for leveling soil, investors and contractors survey locations and submit procedures to supply materials under the special mechanism. For stone, auctions for mineral extraction rights will be held for nearly 20 mine projects; if the project has urgent needs, the Provincial People’s Committee may approve special mechanisms for certain mines. Similarly, sand sources will be exploited under the special mechanism along the Dong Nai River section near Lam Dong province.

Proactively ensuring solutions for sufficient supply

Construction materials are one of the decisive factors for infrastructure project progress. In reality, several ongoing projects in Southern provinces have demonstrated this. Even with capital and land cleared, the lack of timely, appropriate, and quality soil, sand, and stone can still cause delays.

According to the DoAE, with two ongoing expressway projects and the extraction capacity of licensed mines in the Northern area, it may be difficult to fully meet construction material demand. Therefore, the department will continue reviewing and proposing solutions while encouraging qualified enterprises to apply the special mechanisms under government resolutions to expand exploitation and increase output to ensure stone supply for key projects. The department also requests the project management boards to actively introduce contractors to work with neighboring localities to seek and supplement material sources when necessary.

Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang  said that Dong Nai has abundant mineral resources, basically meeting infrastructure project needs. However, simultaneous implementation of multiple large-scale projects, increased material demand from some Mekong provinces, and the fact that some mines have not completed procedures to increase capacity have led to temporary shortages of certain materials in recent times, affecting construction progress. Learning from experience, for the two expressways in the Northern part of the province, the DoAE has proactively coordinated with investors and contractors to assess demand and propose solutions for each type of material. This approach helps limit passive situations, avoid shortages of soil, sand, and stone, thus contributing to timely project completion and early operation.

Also according to provincial leadership, the province and the communal authorities are adjusting planning; in particular, mineral mines will be reviewed, updated, and adjusted as a basis for licensing, applying special mechanisms for extraction capacity and administrative procedures. This is considered an important solution to help the locality proactively allocate material sources, reduce shortage risks, and ensure construction progress for national key projects.

Not only the two expressways mentioned, but the Northern area of the province is also preparing to implement many transport, urban, and industrial projects. In the context of increasing material demand, proactively reviewing and adjusting planning, promptly resolving legal obstacles for mining enterprises, allowing special mechanisms, and strictly controlling prices and material supply for key projects are comprehensive solutions to ensure stable supply and meet project progress.

By Hoang Loc – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha