Tien Giang province has agreed to invest in the expansion project of the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong expressway phase 2, which is nearly 40 kilometers long. The total capital investment for the project is approximately 9,765 billion Vietnamese dong from public investment sources.
Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong Expressway stopped toll collection from January 1, 2019 until now. Photo: Trung Chanh
According to the TTXVN news agency quoting information from the Tien Giang Department of Transport on June 8th, Tien Giang province has agreed to invest in the expansion project of the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong expressway.
This expressway section is about 40 kilometers long, with 4 lanes and two emergency stopping lanes. It was commenced in 2004 and completed in 2010. After more than 12 years of operation, especially after toll collection was suspended in 2019, the expressway has experienced high traffic volume, frequent congestion, and accidents. The traffic volume on this expressway reaches over 50,000 vehicles per day.
With the current scale of the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong expressway, it does not meet the current and future transportation needs. Therefore, Project Management Unit 7 (Ministry of Transport) has conducted a feasibility study for the investment expansion of the expressway section between Ho Chi Minh City and Trung Luong.
According to Project Management Unit 7, the project will be implemented as a public investment. In terms of investment scale, the project will expand the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong Expressway phase 2 by adding 4 lanes to achieve a total of 8 lanes of expressway and 2 emergency stopping lanes.
The project has a design speed of 120 km/h and a preliminary total investment of approximately 9,765 billion Vietnamese dong from the state budget for the 2021-2025 and 2026-2030 periods of the Ministry of Transport.
Regarding the implementation timeline, according to Project Management Unit 7, the investor will organize the preparation of the feasibility study report, appraisal, and investment decision by the end of 2023. Subsequently, the feasibility study report, appraisal, and investment decision will be completed in 2024.
It is expected that the project will commence in 2025, with construction and operation starting in 2027.
Tien Giang province also proposes the construction of connecting roads to the expressway in Tan Phuoc and Chau Thanh districts, as well as the addition of more rest stops along this expressway to meet practical needs.
Furthermore, Tien Giang province suggests that the Ministry of Transport also consider expanding the Trung Luong – My Thuan expressway in a synchronized manner with the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong expressway after its completion and upgrade.
@Thesaigontimes