Int’l Bidding Helps Cut Cost of JICA-funded Expressway Proj in Vietnam

The cost of the Danang-Quang Ngai expressway project decreased by VND3 trillion ($134 million) thanks to an international bidding, said Mai Tuan Anh, general director of the project’s investor Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC). Mr. Anh made the statement at a working session with Dinh Van Nha, vice chairman of the National Assembly’s Budget and Finance Committee and Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho on Sept 21. To date, the project has met 60% of its progress and is expected to get technical opening in the third quarter of 2017 but it still facing troubles in site clearance due to reciprocal capital, he added. The 140-km expressway has total investment of $1.47 billion with majority of the sum coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the WB. The expressway is the first of its kind in central Vietnam. As part of the North-South expressway project, the Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway will have six lanes. Its construction was kicked off in 2013 and is scheduled for completion in late 2017. (baogiaothong.vn Sept 22)