11:21:24 AM | 3/10/2008
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) September 30 said that had agreed to offer Vietnam a US$410.2-million loan for building an expressway in the southern region, Vietnam News Agency reported.
The 51-kilometer expressway will link the center of Ho Chi Minh City to National Highway 1 at Dau Giay in Dong Nai province.
The four-lane project, which will ease traffic congestion in and around the country’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, includes the construction of a 1,700-meter bridge over the Dong Nai River at Long Thanh district.
The Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway will help to boost economic activities in Vietnam’s largest city, the surrounding provinces, and the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
The expressway with a total investment of US$932 million is scheduled for completion in 2014.
Recently, ADB and Vietnam’s central bank signed US$1.19 billion deals to help build another expressway linking Hanoi and Lao Cai province in northern Vietnam.
Vietnam needs about US$48 billion to develop expressway networks of 5,753 kilometers between now and 2020 under a plan approved by the Prime Minister recently, state media said.
The Southeast Asian country will prioritize the funds on expressways near socio-economic centers like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Danang, Nha Trang and Can Tho.
Being among Vietnam’s top donors, the ADB has pledged to triple its loans to over US$1 billion for the developing country last year up from US$308.2 million in 2006. (VNA)
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