Present at the ground-breaking ceremony were Minister of Public Security, Le Hong Anh, and ranking officials from relevant ministries and departments and leaders from the southwestern region.

The project is part of the North-South expressway and plays an important role in connecting and promoting socio-economic developments between the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway will be 43km long, starting from Than Cuu Nghia commune, Tien Giang province, and end where National Highway 1A connects to My Thuan Bridge. With a total investment capital of VND19,000 billion, the expressway will consist of 4 lanes capable of coping with speeds of 120km per hour. 54 bridges are also scheduled to be built along with stations and technical support services on the expressway.

Addressing the ceremony, PM Dung commended the Ministry of Transport (MoT), the Expressway Investment Joint Stock Company, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), related agencies and localities for their well-coordinated efforts to start work as scheduled.

He requested that the MoT, investors and the consultancy unit finish construction work in 3 years and ensure the quality of the project. He also asked Tien Giang province to press ahead with site clearance work and deal with resettlement issues.

Mr. Dung emphasised that the country’s modernization and industrialization needs to develop its expressway system for future. He said as the state budget is still limited, it is necessary to mobilize outside sources for infrastructure investment and the Government will create favourable conditions for investors, he added.