Construction ministry proposes to expand North-South expressway

The Ministry of Construction has proposed the Prime Minister to initially expand the Eastern North-South Expressway section from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City from four to six lanes.

The expansion will help to ensure traffic safety and support economic development, according to the ministry.

The Hanoi-HCM City section has a total length of 1,144km. Total investment capital for the expansion is estimated at over VND152.1 trillion ($5.89 billion).

The Government plans to report the proposed investment policy for the expansion to the Politburo in April this year. The investment policy is therefore expected to be approved by the National Assembly in June. Construction is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of this year.

As planned, the Eastern North-South Expressway runs from northern Lang Son province to the southernmost Ca Mau province with a total length of 2,055km.

So far, 1,206 km have been put into operation while the rest is expected for completion this year.