HCMC – Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Binh Dinh provinces are seeking the prime minister’s approval to build a 160-kilometer expressway at a total cost of VND56 trillion.
Speaking at a working session with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 22, Ho Van Nien, Party secretary of Gia Lai, proposed the Government allocate the 2026-2030 public investment or assign the relevant ministries and agencies to help seek partners to build the road before 2030, VnExpress news site reported.
The expressway will start from the National Highway 1 section in Binh Dinh’s Tuy Phuoc District to the North-South expressway section in the west of Pleiku City in Gia Lai Province. The four-lane route will run parallel with National Highway 19. Its investment will be backed by the State budget, ODA loans and other sources. It is expected for completion in 2030.
Earlier, the three provinces said in a statement sent to the prime minister that the Quy Nhon-Pleiku expressway project will play a vital role and will tap the potential for economic growth in the area. This east-west route will link to some north-south sections of the North-South expressway project, thereby helping perfect the expressway network in the country.
The east-west route will also help connect seaports in central provinces with the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia development triangle area.
If the proposal gets the PM’s nod, this will be the fifth expressway linking to the Central Highlands. The previous four, which are scheduled to get off the ground in the 2021-2025 period, comprise Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot, Tan Phu-Bao Loc, Bao Loc-Lien Khuong, Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh.
