Work starts on VND11 trillion Van Don-Mong Cai Expressway in Quang Ninh

A ground breaking ceremony was held in Quang Ninh province on April 3 to begin construction of the Van Don-Mong Cai Expressway.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (C) joins other delegates at the ground-breaking ceremony. (Photo: VGP)
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (C) joins other delegates at the ground-breaking ceremony. (Photo: VGP)

The VND11 trillion (US$476 million) project will be implemented under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and public-private partnership (PPP) contract signed between the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee and Sun Group’s Van Don Infrastructure Investment and Development Limited Liability Company.

The highway, 80 kilometres long and 25.25 metres wide, accommodates four lanes and a designed speed of 100 kilometres per hour. It will run through Van Don, Tien Yen, Dam Ha and Hai Ha districts and end at the Bac Luan II bridge’s access road in Mong Cai city.

Fees will be collected over the course of 19 years on the road after it is completed by 2021.

Once it is put into operation, the expressway will shorten the travel time between Van Don to Mong Cai to 50 minutes from two hours, and join the Ha Long-Hai Phong and Ha Long-Van Don highways to form the longest highway in Vietnam which will run from Lao Cai province to Quang Ninh’s Mong Cai city via Hanoi and Hai Phong.

The highway will also serve as an important gateway linking the north of Vietnam to China and ASEAN, creating momentum to foster intra-regional connectivity.

For Quang Ninh in particular, it will help to attract more investment to the province, and boost border trade and local socio-economic development.

Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung highly appreciated the Quang Ninh local authorities’ efforts in mobilising all available resources for transport infrastructure.

The construction of the Ha Long - Mong Cai expressway will not only contribute to Quang Ninh’s economic development but also bring the province’s potential and advantages into full play, he stressed.

He requested that the local authorities, investors and contractors work closely together in order to keep the project on track and complete the construction on schedule.

He asked the Quang Ninh authorities to continue improving its business environment in order to lure more investment and serve as an important pillar in the northern region’s economy.