He said work on the project would commence near Ky Lam bridge in the Dien Ban District of central Quang Nam Province.

VND29 trillion (US$1.4 billion) would be invested in the four-lane express link, with $635 million coming from the World Bank and $673 million from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The road will allow vehicles to travel at 120km per hour and reduce travelling time between the two provinces from three hours to two.

The completed project will cover an area of 963 hectares through Da Nang city and the provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai. The planned route runs through private land and property, and site clearance compensation has cost VND1 trillion ($48 million).

In a meeting with World Bank representative Paul Valley, Da Nang city’s administration agreed to complete land clearance and begin resettlement next month.

Deputy chairman of the city’s people’s committee, Phung Tan Viet, confirmed that the city has sped up the site clearance process to allow work on the project to begin soon.