HCMC – The Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway project is set to open to traffic on January 21, Nguyen Tan Dong, general director of the Trung Luong-My Thuan BOT JSC, the project’s developer, said yesterday, January 10.
After the expressway opens to traffic, vehicles will be allowed to use it ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to ease the traffic overload facing the National Highway No. 1 section from HCMC to the Mekong Delta.
Specifically, from January 22 to 31, vehicles can travel on one side of the road from Trung Luong to My Thuan. Between February 1 and 15, vehicles can use the other side.
The project was earlier delayed for many years after investors were changed twice, capital adjusted three times and completion date rescheduled four times.
Therefore, the Trung Luong-My Thuan BOT Company had proposed the Ministry of Transport and Tien Giang Province jointly invite the relevant units to assist with adjustments and give their feedback and evaluation on the project’s quality before it is put into service, Dong said.
After opening to traffic, the project was expected to be officially put into operation in March. However, the project is reportedly facing some obstacles linked to toll collection issues. Accordingly, the developer has yet to finalize a plan to build a toll station on the road.
The first phase of the 51-kilometer project opened to traffic early last year after 12 years of construction, linking with the HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway section passing through Chau Thanh District in Tien Giang Province.
The project cost over VND14 trillion and was initially slated for completion in 2013. However, the project was deferred due to the limited capability of the investor. After its investor and management agency were changed several times, its total investment post adjustment was over VND12 trillion.
