HCMC – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has approved the Ministry of Transport’s proposal to allow local authorities to develop an expressway in northern Vietnam and another in the southeastern region.
The expressway in northern Vietnam would run through Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces, with a total length of some 88 kilometers.
The length of the expressway in southeastern Vietnam is 129 kilometers. It would link Gia Nghia City in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and Chon Thanh District of neighboring Binh Phuoc Province, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang said at a meeting chaired by PM Chinh yesterday, March 12.
The transport minister underlined the need to build the two expressways to bolster the traffic infrastructure development, satisfy the soaring travel demand and promote socioeconomic growth in the regions.
The ministry at the meeting also agreed to develop a 26-kilometer expressway section passing through Ninh Binh using public capital and assign this province to take charge of the construction of the section.
Thai Binh was told to be in charge of the 62-kilometer Nam Dinh-Thai Binh section, which would be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) format.
Similarly, the Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh expressway project would follow the PPP format, with the government of Binh Phuoc taking charge of the project, the local media reported.
Representatives of the relevant ministries and agencies at the meeting suggested plans related to the scale of the roads, site clearance, projected traffic volume and financial estimates, as well as the possibility of attracting private investors to join the projects.
Addressing the meeting, the PM said the three provinces of Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, and Binh Phuoc have enormous growth potential, but their traffic infrastructure systems remain incomplete and lack interregional expressways.
Therefore, the development of the two expressways mentioned above would play a crucial role and create a driving force for growth in the regions, PM Chinh added.
As for investment methods, PM Chinh suggested the PPP format and using the central and local budget and capital backed by businesses in line with prevailing regulations.
Regarding their design, the Government leader demanded the expressways have four complete lanes and a revision in their total investments.
