According to Cao Duc Minh, Director of the provincial Department of Transport, the coastal road will cross Tien, Ham Luong and Co Chien rivers and connect Ben Tre with its two neighbour provinces of Tien Giang and Tra Vinh.

The road will start at the intersection with provincial road 877B in Phu Dong commune, Tan Phu Dong district, Tien Giang province, and end at Thanh Phu bridge, Long Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district, Tra Vinh province.

The project will be funded by official development assistance (ODA) programmes for the Mekong Delta’s sustainable development and the Ben Tre budget, he said.

In the first phase, from now to 2025, a two-lane road, plus 13 bridges along the way, will be built at a total cost of VND13 trillion. After 2025, the project will need an extra VND15.5 trillion to expand the width of the road from 12 metres to 100 metres in urban areas and 46 metres in suburban areas.

The road is part of a 740km coastal road project in the Southwestern region approved by the Government 13 years ago, running through the seven Mekong Delta provinces of Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, and Kien Giang.

When opened to traffic, the coastal road will shorten the distance between the Mekong Delta’s provinces and the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and help reduce traffic congestion and accidents on National Highways 1A and 50./. VNA