Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh examines the coastal area of Ben Tre province on February 15. ( Photo: VNA)
According to Cao DucMinh, Director of the provincial Department of Transport, the coastal road will cross Tien, Ham Luong and Co Chienrivers and connect Ben Tre with its two neighbour provinces of Tien Giang andTra Vinh.
The road will start at the intersection with provincial road 877B in Phu Dong commune,Tan Phu Dong district, Tien Giang province, and end at Thanh Phu bridge, LongHoa commune, Chau Thanh district, Tra Vinh province.
The project will be funded by official development assistance(ODA) programmes for the Mekong Delta’s sustainable development and the Ben Trebudget, he said.
In the first phase, from now to 2025, a two-lane road, plus 13bridges along the way, will be built at a total cost of VND13 trillion. After2025, the project will need an extra VND15.5 trillion to expand the width ofthe road from 12 metres to 100 metres in urban areas and 46 metres in suburbanareas.
Theroad is part of a 740km coastal road project in the Southwestern regionapproved by the Government 13 years ago, running through the seven Mekong Deltaprovinces of Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, andKien Giang.
When opened to traffic, the coastal road will shorten the distancebetween the Mekong Delta’s provinces and the southern economic hub of Ho ChiMinh City and help reduce traffic congestion and accidents on National Highways1A and 50./.