$2.4 bln central Vietnam expressway to take shape

Authorities of Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Binh Dinh provinces have proposed to build Quy Nhon-Pleiku Expressway with a total investment of VND56,000 billion ($2.42 billion), connecting the Central Highlands with the country's south-central coast.

The expressway, which runs parallel to National Highway 19, will be 160 kilometers long and have four lanes. Funding is set to come from the state budget, official development assistance loans, and a variety of other sources. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2030.

Phase one, from 2021 to 2025, will build two lanes in advance and prepare the way for four lanes at a cost of VND40,000 billion ($1.73 billion).

The expressway, as proposed, begins at the intersection of National Highway 1 in Tuy Phuoc district, Binh Dinh province (south-central Vietnam), and ends at the intersection with the North-South Expressway western section in Pleiku town, Gia Lai province (the Central Highlands). Tuy Phuoc district neighbors Quy Nhon, the economic and tourism center of Binh Dinh.

The route will establish an expressway across the central coastal region's system of seaports, linking the East Sea with the economic triangle of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, as well as Thailand and Myanmar.

This is also a horizontal route that connects vertical highways, including the North-South expressway, completing Vietnam's expressway network.

If authorized, this will be the fifth expressway linking the Central Highlands.