CLOSE-UP OF CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS ON THE CAT TIEN – DIEM VAN BOULEVARD

The Cat Tien – Diem Van Boulevard is part of Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh’s coastal route and is significant as a direct link between the two symmetrical centers of Quy Nhon and Cat Tien. Besides cutting travel time from Cat Tien to Quy Nhon to just 10 minutes, once completed the boulevard will become the focal point for the urban areas and varied resorts already planned by the province.

The coastal road linking the South Central provinces is of special significance as a premise for the region’s development, combining political factors and economic stability with long-term development planning. The Cat Tien – Diem Van segment is of great value to Quy Nhon City, opening up not just a living area but an inevitable urban planning trend.

Figure 1. Aerial photo of the National Coastal Road under construction

A route with multi-dimensional significance and long-term planning vision

It is a Grade A transport route approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 129/QD-TTg dated 18/01/2010, with the key role of connecting Quang Ngai – Binh Dinh – Phu Yen, with a total length of 130 km, opening a gateway to the entire South Central coastal region and, indirectly, the Central Highlands.

For Binh Dinh, the coastal road is a main axis that radiates connections with urban roads, elevating and opening up much space to serve urban, resort and production needs. The Cat Tien – Diem Van route connects Quy Nhon’s current center with a newly planned, multi-functional expanded center to compensate for the core area, which has almost run out of land.

Broke ground on 16-4-2022 with a 32-month timeline, the road is designed for speeds of up to 80 km/h, with a 20.5 m roadbed and a standard 17.5 m asphalt-concrete surface, opening up development in the north of Quy Nhon, beginning with Cat Tien and then Cat Chanh, Phuoc Thang, Phuoc Hoa, Phuoc Son and Phuoc Thuan… Cat Tien is the core of the new urban – tourism – commerce planning area and plays the central role in the connection.

Combined with the plan announced in Decision 4389-QD UBND, this is a radial route through the planning area with a vision to 2040, with a projected population of about 300,000 and a new urban scale of about 2,493 ha combined with about 5,576 ha of residential land.

Figure 2. Cat Tien junction – Imperial Oasis Lac Viet Urban Area

Figure 3. Diem Van junction – Quy Nhon center

An area forecast to boom in the near future

According to conventional real estate development theory, about 10 years after a route connecting the center with an undeveloped area opens, real estate prices at the new location reach about 80% of those in the old area. But lessons from real estate development in Ha Long – Quang Ninh and Da Nang show that some newly created areas have even higher real estate values because of planning factors. In addition, the pace of price convergence, instead of about 10–12 years as before, takes only 5–6 years in some areas according to many large-scale surveys, with price growth increasingly strong and the gap in land prices narrowing.

In the forecasts of many domestic and international real estate development experts, the Cat Tien area will be a development focus of Quy Nhon in the coming period thanks to inheriting systematic, large-scale planning befitting a tourism urban region. With sufficiently large land funds and site clearance costs still reasonable compared with central Quy Nhon, the Cat Tien area is an opportunity attractive enough for major investors, such as Lac Viet Group, BIM Group, Hung Thinh Group and Phat Dat Group…

Figure 4. Lac Viet Group’s Imperial Oasis project

Results of many surveys before the announcement of the Cat Tien – Diem Van road groundbreaking show that real estate prices in the Cat Tien area were average, but after construction began, selling prices rose sharply while central Quy Nhon grew only at a moderate pace, so the price gap between the two areas keeps narrowing. With its planned status as the second center, a prime location and many transport advantages, Cat Tien is the starting point of a new development phase for the coastal city of Quy Nhon.

A bustling construction site creates momentum for investors

At 13.5 km long, the route passes through fairly diverse and somewhat complex geology such as saltwater marsh, freshwater paddy fields, part of a rocky mountain base, sections of shifting sand and sections that need bridges, so completing the road is no small challenge for the contractor. Beyond the technical challenges, there are also the effects of post-Covid investment factors, community mobilization for site clearance, inspection and evaluation staff and more. Even so, many sections have by now taken shape and met technical standards.

Figure 5. Photo taken from Cat Tien roundabout toward Ong Nui Pagoda

According to several senior construction managers at the large site, the construction team is currently aiming to finish according to the original plan, ensure technical quality as designed, and soon put the road into operation to serve the needs of businesses and people of Binh Dinh.

Figure 6. Photo taken at the middle section of the Cat Tien segment

Figure 7. The roadbed has been filled in many sections

Recently, during an on-site survey of the Cat Tien – Diem Van road together with the management agency, the construction inspection experts spoke very highly of the volume completed, the construction progress and the quality of the work, and admired the site staff for overcoming many obstacles in implementing the project. According to the schedule, the whole route is expected to be officially completed around the end of 2025, which demands great determination, sacrifice and close attention from authorities at all levels, the staff and workers, and the people in the area.