Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on September 13th gave the order to start the construction of a highway linking Ha Long city in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh to Bach Dang bridge in the port city of Hai Phong.

The 19.5km highway will be built at a total cost of over VND 6.4 trillion (USD 300.8 million) sourced from Quang Ninh province’s budget and other sectors.

With four lanes, the road is designed for vehicles to run at a maximum speed of 100km per hour.

Delegates give the order to start the construction.

Once completed by 2016, the highway will shorten the distance between Ha Long and Hai Phong to 25km instead of 70km at present.

Addressing the event, PM Dung hailed Quang Ninh’s efforts in mobilising sources for the project. He stressed the project’s significance in economic, cultural and social development and security-defence for the province as well as the region and the whole country.

He asked the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Planning and Investment and other relevant agencies to promptly work with Japanese partners to early start the construction of Bach Dang bridge, that links Ha Long-Hai Phong highway to Hanoi-Hai Phong highway.

Work on Bach Dang bridge is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2015. Japanese group SE will build the bridge with a total length of 5.45km with a cost of VND 7.2 trillion under the build-operate-transfer form.

Once open to traffic by 2017, the bridge, designed for vehicles running at a maximum speed of 100km per hour, will help shorten by 60km between Ha Long and Hanoi.

In addition, the new highway will help increase goods transported between Quang Ninh to Northern provinces.

Source: VNA