SECTION: Northern Territory Regional
LENGTH: 352 words
HEADLINE: WORK ON VIETNAM'S HIGHWAY 1 NEARS COMPLETION
DATELINE: HANOI, March 17
BODY:
Work has begun on the last section of the national highway upgrade,
from Can Tho city to the southernmost Ca Mau Province.
This 236km stretch of highway will cost US$143.6 million, with the
World Bank providing a $110 million loan and the remainder coming from
the Vietnamese government.
The highway will be widened by at least 12 metres and sealed, allowing
the speed limit to increase to 70-80km/h, up from the current
40-50km/h. The six-stage, 2,300km highway upgrade began in the
northern province of Lang Son in 1996 and the Ca Mau section is due to
be finished by 2006.
The project management unit's general director, Nguyen Ngoc Dong, said
the upgrades had helped ease traffic congestion on the highway, which
links many of the country's key economic centres.
He said more than half the highway upgrade had been completed,
including sections from Lang Son Province on the Vietnam-China border
to Hanoi; Hanoi-Vinh; Vinh-Dong Ha; Nha Trang-HCM City and HCM
City-Can Tho.
The World Bank and Asian Development Bank are the major financiers for
the current upgrade of about two-thirds of the trans-Vietnam Highway.
Their US$834 million lendings are being used to overhaul the
north-south highway. The road upgrade has also received financial
support from Japan's official development assistance (ODA) programme.
The old highway, built by the French more than 100 years ago, was
heavily damaged by wars and general wear and tear, Dong said.
He added that another 400km road from Nha Trang city to Quang Ngai
Province will be finished in 2003, funded by an Asian Development Bank
loan.
Construction companies have had to undertake 30-40 per cent more work
than originally anticipated, but Dong said all the unforeseen work has
been completed.
He said several problems emerging from the process of construction
have also been resolved, such as large cracks which appeared in road
sections following heavy rains.
The new sections will reduce travelling time from seven to four hours
between Hanoi-Vinh and four to two hours between Hanoi-Lang Son, Dong
said.
(VNA)
Vietnam News List - vnnews-l
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/~vern/vnnews-list.html
List owner: Stephen R Denney <sdenney@ocf.berkeley.edu>