“The Government has decided to invest in the North-South Expressway to reduce congestions; however, the project cannot be finished in 2020 if budgets are poorly allocated,” said the minister.

Thang stressed the need of building expressways and said Vietnam should continue to borrow capital to complete transport projects. He also estimated that with the current slow progress, only about 600 among 2000 kilometers of the expressway could be finished.

China builds 4,500 to 5,000 kilometers of expressway each year while Vietnam has yet to finish the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway stretching only tens of kilometers long since construction commencement in 2005, the minister said. The sooner the expressway is built, the more time and costs are saved, he added.

“The top issue is to control the borrowed capital well and be determined to achieve the target of completing the expressway in 2020.”

In the budget allocation plan for next year, the Government plans to cut public investment from 44.3% of the total in the 2006-2010 period to 39.5%-40.3% next year with a sharp drop in investments from the State Budget and bonds. Meanwhile, capital for transport infrastructure projects are mostly taken from these sources.