Speaking at the ceremony, Nguyen Van The, Transport Minister, highly appreciate the vital role of Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway project which is a key link in the North - South expressway system.
After being completed, this highway will connect the Mekong Delta with the Vietnam's Southeast provinces. In addition, this expressway is also a bypass to reduce the amount of vehicles through Ho Chi Minh City. The remaining 3 packages has special significance in completing the entire highway.
Nguyen Van The also asked the People's Committee of Dong Nai province to speed up land clearing work in Dong Nai province. It is expected that some packages will be completed by 2019 so the completion of the remaining A5, A6 and A7 packages is of particular importance.
According to information from VEC, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway has a total length of 57.7 kilometers including 5.5 kilometers through Long An province, nearly 25 kilometers through Ho Chi Minh City and more than 27 kilometers through Dong Nai province.
This project is designed based on A highway standard with four lanes and speed at 100 kilometers per hour.
The total investment of the first stage of this project is VND31,320 billion (US$1.607 million) of which, Vietnam borrowed ADB (Asian Development Bank) US$635.7 million and US$634,8 million from Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway project which is invested by VEC was started in July 2014. This project is expected to be completed in 2020 and after that, this expressway will shorten the time of transportation from Long An to Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces and vice versa.
