The Ministry of Transport is seeking the Government's approval to quickly develop 713 kilometers of the North-South Expressway at an estimated cost of over VND130.2 trillion (US$5.7 billion).
The Ministry of Transport is seeking the Government’s approval to quickly develop 713 kilometers of the North-South Expressway at an estimated cost of over VND130.2 trillion (US$5.7 billion).
According to a document the ministry sent to the Government, the cross-country expressway would be 2,109 kilometers long, linking the northern province of Lang Son and the southernmost province of Ca Mau.
The ministry has divided the project into three phases. In the first phase from 2017 to 2020, the ministry seeks to develop 713 kilometers of the expressway, including sections in Nam Dinh, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Hue, Khanh Hoa and Dong Nai provinces.
The ministry proposes the construction of 713 kilometers be divided into 11 components, with eight under build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts, and three under the public investment format in the 2017-2020 period.
Phase two between 2021 and 2025 will be to build several more sections, such as those from Bai Vot in Ha Tinh to Cam Lo in Quang Tri, and from Quang Ngai to Nha Trang. The last phase from 2025 onwards will be to construct the Can Tho-Ca Mau section.
The document states a 223-kilometer section of the expressway has been opened to traffic while a 67-kilometer section has been secured with sufficient funds. Besides, work on a 297-kilometer section has been underway.
The remaining sections from Hanoi City to HCMC stretching 1,372 kilometers, and from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to Ca Mau Province at 150 kilometers in length will be built with four lanes.
The ministry said the construction of the expressway cannot be delayed, as some sections of National Highway 1A like Nam Dinh-Ha Tinh, Quang Tri-Thua Thien Hue, and Dong Nai-Khanh Hoa will be overloaded with around 42,100 standard vehicles a day by 2020.
Once the first section of 713 kilometers is completed, the ministry will set up tollgates to collect fees which will be used to finance the remaining sections of the expressway.
The ministry estimates the total cost of the first phase in 2017-2020 would be VND130.2 trillion (US$5.7 billion), with around VND55 trillion from government bond sales and VND63.7 trillion from investors and other sources.
(Source:SGT)
