The Goldman Sachs Group Inc, an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking firm, will provide a $250 million loan to help Vietnam build Co Ma tunnel, Dau Tu newspaper reported, citing an official. Experts of Goldman Sachs will visit Vietnam soon to make a report on environment impact as a compulsory task before signing the loan contract, Nghiem Sy Minh from Ca Pass Investment JSC, the investor, said. Construction of Co Ma is a part of a VND15.603 trillion Ca Pass Tunnel project, which will run through Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces. The Ca Pass Tunnel with a length of 13.45 kilometer is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2012 and is slated for completion in Q2, 2017. Once operational, the tunnel is expected to have four lanes to allow vehicles to travel at 80 kilometers per hour. It will be the third tunnel on the north-south axis road along Vietnam’s central coast. Earlier, France’s Credit Agricole Corporeate Corporate and Societe Generale Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide loans for Ca Pass Investment JSC to carry out the project. Under the Vietnamese road development system by 2020, Ca pass tunnel is expected to connect the North and South in Vietnam and contribute to boost socio-economic development in Central Vietnam. (Dau Tu – Investment Aug 8 p2)
