Hanoi-Thai Nguyen Expressway proposed to expand to six lanes

The Ministry of Construction has submitted a report to the Prime Minister outlining a plan to expand the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen Expressway from four to six lanes under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

As part of the projected 227=km Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Bac Kan - Cao Bang Expressway with completion scheduled before 2030, the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen section has been put in operation since 2014.

The section stretches over 62 km with four lanes. An upgrade to six lanes is being considered to accommodate increasing traffic demand.

The Ministry of Construction's leadership assesses that the expansion is in line with the master plan and necessary to meet current and future traffic needs, as the existing route, with only two to four lanes in certain sections, no longer fully meets expressway standards.

Phuong Thanh Transport Construction and Investment Joint Stock Company (JSC) has proposed investing in the expansion of the section under a PPP model, presenting two specific options:

Option 1 involves expanding the section from the Hanoi's Ring Road 3 interchange to the Tan Long interchange in Thai Nguyen province, covering more than 63 km with a design speed of 100 km/h. The preliminary total investment is approximately VND6.79 trillion (nearly $261.8 million), with no state budget funding.

Option 2 proposes expanding the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi (in Bac Kan province) section, covering more than 100 km with a design speed of 80-100 km/h. The total investment is estimated at nearly VND16,789 billion (over $646.5 million), with an expected nearly VND5.4 trillion (more than $207 million) to be funded from state budget.