HA NOI (VNS)— The expanded National Highway 1A will have more than 20 tollbooths when completed in 2016 to enable investors to recover their invested capital.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong explained that the expansion of the highway required more money than the State budget could provide, so it was necessary to draw on other sources.
“The expansion of the 1,700-km highway from Ha Noi to HCM City, which increases the current two lanes to four lanes, will cost more than VND120 trillion (US$5.7 billion). That’s beyond the capacity of the State budget,” Truong said.
As a result, about 1,000km will be built under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, he told a press conference in Ha Noi yesterday.
For every 70km of road built under the BOT model, the investors can set up toll booths to recover their capital within 25 years.
“The fees collected from the booths will also be used for repair and maintenance on the BOT-built roads,” Truong said.
Considered the most important highway in Viet Nam, National Highway 1A runs through half of the provinces and cities in the country, linking Ha Noi, Da Nang, HCM City and Can Tho.
“Some parts of the highway see 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles each day, so it needs to be expanded,” said Truong.
The ministry aims for construction to start next month for all expansions under the BOT model. — VNS
Đăng ký: VietNam News