Khanh Hoa wants to build $561 million expressway

The Van Phong-Nha Trang Expressway perspective

The leaders of Khanh Hoa People's Committee proposed that the PM assigns the province to take on the implementation of this major highway project in the next five years, with the participation of state budget capital as regulated.

According to the pre-feasibility study report that has just been submitted to the Ministry of Transport, the Van Phong-Nha Trang section has a length of 83km, with the starting point in the territory of Van Tho commune, Van Ninh district and the end point at the intersection with National Highway 27C in Dien Tho commune, Dien Khanh district in Khanh Hoa province, connecting the Nha Trang-Cam Lam section – another section under the North-South highway network’s Eastern Spur.

According to Decision No.326/QD-TTg from 2016 on approving the development planning of Vietnam's highway network up to 2020, the scale of the Van Phong - Nha Trang section within the North-South Highway network in the Eastern Spur – which spans from northern mountainous province of Lang Son (Huu Nghi border gate) to Ca Mau province in the southernmost features four lanes – will have a 24.75m wide roadbed with designed maximum speed for vehicles of 100-120km per hour.

To match the burgeoning transportation needs, balance resources, and ensure investment efficiency, the project management board proposed the project to consist of different investment phases, in which phase 1 involves building four lanes with limited traffic. The roadbed in this phase would be 17m wide, with an emergency stop for every 4-5km, operating according to the newest highway standards.

The project is proposed to be invested in the form of a public private partnership, with the estimated total investment value excluding loan interest reaching VND12.9 trillion ($561 million).

If approved by the competent authority, the project will begin to select investors in early 2022 and start its construction after about six months, with completion and opening to traffic set for the end of 2024.