HCM City Oks Extra VND3.6T for JICA-funded Highway Project

Authorities of Ho Chi Minh City have agreed to add VND3.6 trillion ($190.07 million) for the East-West Highway Project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said a local official.  Of the sum, VND1.4 trillion will come from the Vietnamese government’s reciprocal capital, VND900 billion will be mobilized from the city’s budget and the rest will be JICA’s loan.  The capital increase will bring the project’s total capital to VND13.46 trillion, said Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai.  Tai added that the East-West Highway, which was earlier designed to have 10 lanes, will be built with 14 lanes to meet for the strong development of Thu Thiem New Urban Area; therefore, the capital increase is necessary.  Besides, contracts proposed to raise capital for the project due to price hikes of construction materials.  The East-West Highway project aims to upgrades a number of roads in Ho Chi Minh City and builds roads in the south of the city.