Hanoi approves new “most expensive road on the planet“

According to information published on the Government Portal, on December 27, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung approved the Hoang Cau-Voi Phuc Road project, a section of Belt Road No.1 crossing Dong Da and Ba Dinh districts. The construction of the project is expected to be implemented in 2017-2020. The investment capital will come from Hanoi’s budget and other legal capital sources.

The above funds will be used for land clearance, the construction of the road and other infrastructure elements, such as overpasses, parks, and trees. The project is expected to take up 160,000 square metres and 2,044 households will have to be relocated. 

As a result, 80% of the investment capital will be used for land clearance and the compensation of relocated households.

With total investment capital of nearly VND7.8 trillion (US$343.47 million) for a 2.2-kilometre road section, the average expenditure of Hoang Cau-Voi Phuc road will be VND3.42 trillion (US$150.59 million) per kilometre, triple the construction expenditure of Kim Lien-O Cho Dua Road and 2.4 times the expenditure of O Cho Dua-Hoang Cau Road.

The first record was made in 2006, with the 1.1-kilometre Kim Lien-O Cho Dua Road, which cost VND700 million (US$35,000) per metre. 

Up to 81% of the total investment was spent on land compensation, as more than 1,000 households needed to be relocated from nearly 56,000sq.m of land.

In 2012, the 547-metre O Cho Dua-Hoang Cau section broke the record with the cost of VND1.4 billion (US$61.65 million) per metre. In 2015, Hoang Cau-Lang Ha road section set a new record with about VND2.5 billion (US$110.1 million).