The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport is seeking a $1-billion loan from the World Bank (WB) to build Nghi Son-Bai Vot expressway in the central region in 2011-2014 period, the Dau tu newspaper reported Aug 4. The 94.1-kilometer highway, which will link Nghi Son in Thanh Hoa province and Bai Vot in Ha Tinh province, is a part of North-South expressway project approved by the prime minister. Under a proposal by consultant Road and Bridge Engineering Consultants JSC (TEDI), the expressway will have between four and six lanes and allow vehicles to travel at 120 km/hour. TEDI also estimates a total investment for the Nghi Son-Bai Vot expressway project will be VND20 trillion ($1.04 billion). The Southeast Asian country needs $16 billion for infrastructure transport projects a year; however, it can afford half of that figure. At a recent Consultative Group meeting, donors said that weak infrastructure is one of Vietnam’s biggest barriers hindering foreign investment inflow and urged it to further focusing on deal with the problem.
