Project to build $693mn expressway in southern Vietnam under consideration

September 03, 2015 | 16:19

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A project to build a multimillion-dollar expressway to link Ho Chi Minh City to neighboring Tay Ninh Province has been submitted to the Ministry of Transport for consideration, a project management agency has said.

Project Management Unit No. 7 (PMU7) said it has sent the project to the ministry with a view to easing the overload on the Trans-Asia section from the city to the Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh that borders Cambodia to the west.

The expressway is expected to be about 59km, running parallel to National Highway 22, from the intersection of Beltway 3 and Provincial Road 15 in Hoc Mon District to the Moc Bai border gate, the PMU7 said.

The project is estimated to cost over VND15,727 billion (nearly US$693 million) in total, of which VND10,727 billion ($477.1 million) will be spent on phase 1 and the rest on phase 2, according to the unit.

If approved, the project will kick off in the first quarter of 2017.

Dozens of expressways have been built across Vietnam in recent years to meet the increasingly growing demand for travel.

The longest expressway in the country is the 245km one that connects Hanoi to the northern province of Lao Cai.

This road, which runs from the capital’s Noi Bai through the northern provinces of Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho and Yen Bai before reaching Lao Cai, was opened to traffic on September 21, 2014.

The $1.5 billion expressway has helped shorten the time to travel from Hanoi to Lao Cai from seven hours to 3.5 hours, according to the Vietnam Expressway Corporation, the road’s investor.

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