Vietnam, Japan to Speed up Key Infrastructure Projects

Vietnam and Japan will actively cooperate in accelerating the construction progress of three key Japan-assisted infrastructure projects, said Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc.

 

The two governments have set taskforces to quicken the implementation of the three projects namely the north-south highway, the north-south express railway and the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, Phuc said at the second session of two countries’ joint coordination committee in Hanoi on August 7.

 

Japanese Ambassador Hattori Norio, the committee’s co-president, pointed out difficulties arising from investment and ground clearance for the railway project, confirming Japan will organize a meeting to work on the scheme.

 

The master plan of the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, traffic development in Vietnam including north-south highway and express railway funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) are on schedule

 

The 1,630-km railway, linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, is estimated to cost VND489,000 billion (US$30 billion) in the first phase to 2025 before extending 280 km southward.

 

Japan will grant preferential credits for the construction of Hanoi’s the third bell road connecting Lang-Hoa Lac Highway to Thanh Tri Bridge to serve the development of the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, and the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay section of the North-South Highway project in the 2007 fiscal year. (VNA)