PM okays expansion of road to Cambodia

February 27, 2016 | 10:23

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The HCM City government has got the Prime Minister’s nod for a plan to call for investment to expand National Highway 22 that runs through the city and Tay Ninh Province and connects to Cambodia under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) form.

In December last year, the city government wrote to the Prime Minister seeking approval for the investment plan as National Highway 22 is a major road that connects localities in the Southern Key Economic Zone of Vietnam and some other ASEAN nations but it is narrow. The city said National Highway 22 plays a vital role in fueling economic development in the Southern Key Economic Zone and facilitating cargo transportation from the southeastern and southwestern provinces to Cambodia and other ASEAN nations through Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh Province. Therefore, it is urgent to upgrade and expand the highway.

The Prime Minister told HCMC to closely work with the Ministry of Transport, Tay Ninh and relevant agencies to implement the road expansion project in accordance with the prevailing regulations.

The ministry has thrown support behind the HCMC government’s proposal to find only one investor for the project.

The reason is that if the project is carried out by two investors, there should be two toll stations on the 58-kilometer road. The current regulations require the minimum distance between two BOT tollgates to be 70 kilometers.

SGT

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