The Ministry of Transport has changed plans for the north-south highway project due to capital shortages. Only around 600km of the total route will be built first.

 Only around 600km of the North-South highways route will be built first due to the capital shortages

Pham Huu Son, General Director of Transport Engineering Design Inc. (TEDI) under the Ministry of Transport, said that previously the ministry targeted to complete the construction of 1,372 kilometres on the entire route by 2022 with an expected fund of VND70 trillion (USD3.3 billion) from the state budget.

However, after that, the ministry received VND70 trillion of government bonds for all of its projects in the 2016-2020 period with part of this allocated for the North-South highway project. So, TEDI is assigned to consider how to balance the capital for projects during the period. As a result, around VND41.4 trillion (USD1.88 billion) will be spent for the first phase of the highway project to build 573km out of the 1,372-km North-South Highway route by 2022.

The total investment capital for the highway project’s first phase will be around VND88.53 trillion (USD4.1 billion), including VND41.4 trillion from the state budget, while the rest to be raised from BOT investors.

The first phase between 2017 and 2022 will expand a section from Cao Bo in Nam Dinh Province to Mai Son in Ninh Binh Province to ensure four lanes. While it will also build sections connecting Hanoi and Nghe An; Quang Tri and Quang Ngai and Binh Thuan and HCM City.

The second phase of the project is scheduled to be carried out between 2023 and 2025 to build the remaining sections of the route.

Dtinews