Capital Shortage Stalls JICA, WB-funded Expressway Project in Vietnam

The construction of the Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the World Bank (WB), in Vietnam is being hampered by capital shortage for site clearance and issues on compensation. Vietnam lacks VND1.56 trillion ($67 million) for site clearance of the expressway while the construction process reaches just 35%, state media reported. The 140-km expressway invested by Vietnam Expressway Corp. (VEC), the country’s biggest expressway developer and manager, has total investment of $1.47 billion with majority of the sum coming from the JICA and the WB. As part of the North-South expressway project, the Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway will have six lanes. Its construction is scheduled for completion in 2017. A joint venture between Vietnam’s Construction Corp No. 1 (CC1) and South Korea’s Lotte Engineering and Construction Company has won a VND1.48 trillion contract to build a 16.5-km section of the Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway. (Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam – Vietnam Economic Times Nov 18p12)