The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to lend Vietnam $410 million to build sections of the second arterial highway connecting Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta and southern coastal regions. The Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project will build two cabled-stayed bridges with a combined length of 5 kilometers and interconnecting roads totaling 26 km. The highway will run on the boundaries of An Giang, Can Tho and Dong Thap provinces to the west of the Mekong Delta Region. The two bridges and the interconnecting road will cut travel time between HCM City and Long Xuyen city in An Giang province from 3.5 hours to 2.5 hours. The $860 million highway is expected to open to traffic by the end of 2017, benefiting 170,000 road users daily and will help generate 400,000 new jobs in construction and manufacturing sectors. The transport link will serve as a foundation for the economic and industrial development of Vietnam’s western provinces in the Mekong Delta, said Transport Specialist for ADB’s Southeast Asia Department Rustam Ishenaliev. (vietnamplus.vn Aug 5, Vnexpress.net Aug 5, Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Aug 6 p7, Thoi Bao Kinh Te - Economic Times Aug 6 p3)
