Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway project continues after halt

The first phase of Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway project in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is developed under build-operate-transfer (BOT) format, requiring an investment of VND9,668 billion (US$424 million).

Accordingly, commercial banks including Viettinbank, The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) and The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, better known as Agribank agreed to provide the amount for the project.

With the amount, the project investor can build 51.1-kilometer expressway for four lanes.

Investor has spent VND1,304 billion for site clearance compensation in Tien Giang and run the project on the area of 49.3.
In June, three last bids out of the project’s 21 continues to be conducted; subsequently, it is scheduled that the expressway will be put into practice in 2020.

Construction on the highway began by the Expressway Investment Development Joint Stock Company; however, the work was suspended because the investor faced capital constraints.

The investor has secured VND1,542 billion only, while the remaining VND8,126 billion is mobilized from lenders banks for site clearance and construction.

By 2012, the project was put on hold because of capital shortage; however, it started slowly in 2015 on the same reason.

As of November, 2016, the Ministry of Transport ordered the investor to sign a credit agreement within two months after BOT contract was signed or else the ministry will terminate the investment contract.

However, in two years, credit agreement has not been signed, the Ministry had to extend the completion of credit agreement to save the project./.

SGGP News