Vietnam PMU1 Seeks VND6.31T from JICA for VND19.5T Expressway

The Project Management Unit 1 under the Ministry of Transport is seeking to borrow VND6.31 trillion ($280 million) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the Ninh Binh-Thanh Hoa Expressway. In mid-January, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a plan to allocate state fund for the expressway, but the government fails to allocate VND6.31 trillion for the project in the context of limited state fund. The VND19.5 trillion expressway is designed to be 106 kilometers in length to run through the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa. The 6-lane expressway is expected to allow vehicles to travel at a speed of 120 km. The expressway will be one of the first two pilot projects to be carried out in under the public-private-partnership (PPP) format. The other is the Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Expressway. The PPP model is expected to help reduce government expenses. The World Bank (WB) earlier pledged to provide a $29 million loan for Vietnam to help build the expressway. (baodautu.vn Jan 29)