A landmark expressway project is expected to bring substantial changes to the central region’s infrastructure.
“With total investment of $1.47 billion, the North-South highway eastern branch’s Danang-Quang Ngai expressway will create substantial changes in both quality and quantity to central region dynamic development region’s infrastructure,” Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said at the project’s construction kick-off on May 19.
“The expressway will help attract big investors to the region since when the project was finalised, travel time from Danang city, a nucleus city in the central region key economic zone to Quang Ngai-Vietnam’s largest oil refinery and petro-chemical complex would be shortened significantly to just one and a half hours,” the premier added.
Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said the 140 kilometre long, four-lane expressway will not only contribute to eliminating central region transport bottlenecks, but also open cost-efficient capital raising channels for the country’s infrastructure projects.
In fact, it took a decade before the expressway project was given to developer Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), Vietnam’s largest expressway developer.
“Until this time, the impediments for the project’s implementation were almost settled by VEC. Most significant was the fact that the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have large credit packages to execute the project,” said VEC general director Mai Tuan Anh.
“Since the VEC borrows all project capital from the government and has to fully refund it, tightly controlling expenses and completing the project on schedule in 2017 are vital to the company’s business efficiency,” Anh noted.
Notably, tender package 3A on building Ky Lam bridge crossing Thu Bon River which jumpstarts the project construction was honoured on a consortium of two local contractors – Cienco 4 and Thang Long Construction Corporation at the bid price of VND1.416 trillion ($67.4 million).
“Local investors and contractors’ proven status at international bids involving implementing big transport structure projects like the Danang-Quang Ngai expressway is positive signs paving the way for infrastructure development successful breakthroughs in the coming years,” said Thang.
By Anh Minh
Đăng ký: VietNam News
