National Highway 51, running from T-junction at the Dong Nai Bridge to Vung Tau City, will be widened to eight lanes at a total cost of VND3.2 trillion (US$177.7 million).

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said the highway was a strategic backbone connecting HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, which form an economic triangle in the southern economic zone.

Demand for cargo circulation between these three provinces is rapidly increasing, especially the transportation of cargo to and from major ports in Cai Mep-Thi Vai area in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, placing great pressure on the highway. Traffic jams grind many parts of the road to a standstill everyday.

Deputy Prime Minister Hai asked relevant ministries and agencies to join forces with the developer to speed up the project so as to open the road to traffic as soon as possible.

The expansion of the 72.7-km road will take two years and a half. The project also includes expanding 16 existing bridges, and building 13 new bridges and 12 overpasses in crowded residential areas.

BVEC was founded by a group of large State-owned companies comprising Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (Idico), Song Da Corporation, and Bank for Investment and Development for Vietnam.

The company also plans to commence work on Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway in the third quarter in build-operate-transfer (BOT) form.

The expressway, 35 meters wide with six lanes, will run in parallel with National Highway 51, and will require total capital of VND15.5 trillion, or US$861 million.

* In a related development, a project to develop the Mong Cai international border gate city in the northern province of Quang Ninh has been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

According to a decision issued on July 29, Mong Cai will be upgraded into a city in Vietnam by 2020, with modern trade centers, retail malls and an integrated infrastructure system.

The government will set aside priority funds for 26 projects until 2020 to upgrade the city’s urban infrastructure. The city will be home to 175,000 people by 2020.