Highway construction to delta region restarted The building, operation and transfer project of a 51 kilometre modern highway in the Mekong Delta, the first of its kind in the region, was re-started last week after more than five years facing an impasse.   The project developer is no longer state giant Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV) owned the Expressway Development JSC (BEDC), but a consortium of new investors appointed by the Ministry of Transport (MoT). This consortium includes Tuan Loc Investment Construction JSC, Yen Khanh Manufacturing Trading Service Limited, BMT Construction Investment JSC, Thang Loi Group Limited, and Hoang An JSC. Within the group, Tuan Loc, Yen Khanh and BMT possess a long history of business success and are considered big players in the construction sector. According to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The, restarting works on the Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway bears significant importance as it will contribute to gradually perfecting the road network from the southern economic engine Ho Chi Minh City to the Delta region, satisfying growing travel demands and alleviating traffic congestions on national highway 1. Earlier, the project was assigned to BIDV for implementation. At that time, it was designed as a four-lane modern highway with a total investment capital reaching VND28 trillion ($1.3 billion). The developer BIDV had returned the project to the MoT two years later due to a failure in mobilising capital, which explains why this arterial route was stuck in a state of stasis for the past five years. To ensure viability, the project scope was downsized to building just two lanes with a designed maximum velocity of 80kmh and two subordinate lanes with a velocity of 40kmh, as well as several associated roads. The total investment capital in the first phase is set at VND14.6 trillion ($685 million). Regarding the project’s financial scheme, the investor will be provided the (exclusive) rights to collect toll on the entirety of the road as well as in the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong section from 2019, upon the finalisation of constructions works and the opening for traffic. The MoT has signed with the Cuu Long Corporation for Investment Development and Project Management of Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM) to oversee the project implementation while Tien Giang Province People’s Committee will be held accountable for site clearance and people’s relocation. By Anh Minh, VIR