Authorities in central Thua Thien-Hue province have decided to invest 3.8 billion USD into the development of traffic infrastructure.

Under a plan of the provincial People's Committee, the investment will be used for the construction and upgrade work of road, rail, air, and waterway infrastructure. The work is expected to increase transport capacity to 24 million people and 15 million tonnes of cargo a year.

Disbursement of the total investment will be made in two phases, with 36 trillion VND (1.7 billion USD) for work conducted from now to 2020 and the remaining will be used for the period from 2020 to 2030. Local authorities will reserve 26 percent of total land designated for construction work or 40,000ha of land.

The section of national highway running through the locality and its branches will be upgraded according to the highest standard.

The province also plans to expand potentially busy roads to meet transport demands and develop a road system that links Hue city with airports, seaports, tourism complexes and industrial parks located in suburban areas.

The plan also focuses on the development of two waterway routes, one connecting the two lagoons of Tam Giang and Cau Hai, and another river route running from Thuan An Estuary to Tuan confluence.

The waterway development is expected to serve both cargo transport and tourism travel.

The Chan May deep seaport, which is located between the province and Da Nang city, will be upgraded to receive 50,000 tonne cargo ships and 10,000GT passenger vessels.

The port will serve as a main gateway to the ocean for the East West Corridor that runs through Thailand, Lao and Vietnam.

Local authorities will eventually build new rail lines for high-speed trains, easing rail traffic.

Phu Bai Airport is being developed into an international facility receiving 10 million passengers a year from Southeast Asian countries. At peak hours, the airport is expected to be bale to handle 4,000 passengers at in an hour.

By August this year, the cheap carrier Jetstar Pacific Airlines will add new routes between Hue and Da Lat and Hue and Nha Trang.

VNA