HCMC – The Ministry of Transport has written to the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) disagreeing with the latter’s proposal to widen a section of the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway from four to eight lanes.
VEC’s solution to widening the section running from the interchange with Beltway No. 3 to the interchange with the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway to eight lanes is not in line with the nation’s road network development plan for the 2021-2020 period, with a vision toward 2050, said the ministry.
VEC was told to follow the ministry’s announcement on July 8 on the conclusion of Transport Minister Nguyen Van The about routes connecting with the Long Thanh international airport project, which is underway, and traffic organization solutions in the southern region.
The ministry asked VEC to add other investment formats, such as public investment and public-private partnership, to its solution to determine the pros and cons of each format.
According to the ministry, the investment method proposed by VEC, in which the State budget contributes 44.4% to the total cost of the expansion project, is not feasible as funds for the mid-term public investment projects in 2021-2025 have run out.
In early September, VEC wrote to the ministry and the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises proposing the two allow it to continue to invest in expanding the 21.9-kilometer section of the expressway running from the interchange with Beltway No. 2 to the interchange with the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway.
The expansion project will be executed in two phases. The road will be widened to eight lanes in the first phase and 10 in the second.
Under VEC’s proposal, the project of expanding the 21.9-kilometer section of the expressway would cost VND13.9 trillion, the local media reported.
