Two major builders in fray for HCMC-Trung Luong expressway expansion

Soon after the municipal transport department proposed that the HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway, which connects the city with the Mekong Delta provinces of Long An and Tien Giang, be expanded from four to eight lanes, two major builders - Deoca and Cienco 6 - have entered the project investor race.

The first one is a consortium comprising the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.6 (Cienco 6), Coteccons Construction JSC (HoSE: CTD), and Thuan Viet Trading And Construction Co., Ltd.

Coteccons is well-known as the construction contractor of many major projects in the country including: Viettel headquarters in Hanoi; VinFast automobile complex in Hai Phong; Landmark 81 in HCMC - Vietnam's highest building; and Aeon Mall Long Bien.

It has proposed that the Ministry of Transport let it conduct the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies with its own funds. In case the reports are not approved, the consortium will pay for all the study costs.

Another potential project investor is the Deoca Group, a construction heavyweight in Vietnam. Deoca has proposed that the project be implemented under the public-private-partnership (PPP) format, with the contract carried out as a build-transfer-lease (BTL) project.

The group proposed a toll collection mechanism for the first phase in order to source finance for the second phase. The project is set to be completed by 2025.

It estimates investment for the expansion at VND5,355 billion ($228.8 million), including VND2,650 billion (nearly 50%) from the state budget. The state will phase out payment for project expenses over 10 years (after the first phase of toll collection).

The HCMC Department of Transport has proposed that the expressway be widened from four to eight lanes to handle the surge in traffic on the road.

It suggests that the expansion allows the maximum speed to increase from 100 km to 120 km per hour.

The 62 km expressway with four lanes was put into operation 10 years ago. It was the first expressway to connect HCMC to nearby provinces of Long An and Tien Giang and has now been burdened with traffic overload, which is serious during holidays or weekends.

According to the approved planning for HCMC, the city's traffic system features five expressways with the total tracks of 276.9 km and two ring roads with the length of 287 km. As of now, only two expressways, namely HCMC-Trung Luong and HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay, and a part of Ring Road No.3 with the length of 131 km were open to traffic.