Major expressway in south opened to traffic

Major expressway in south opened to traffic

Anh Quan and Dao Loan

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the opening ceremony of the nation’s most modern expressway - PHOTO: TTXVN

The nation’s most modern expressway is expected to fuel economic growth, facilitate passenger and cargo transportation, and speed up tourism development in southern and central localities, especially in Binh Thuan Province.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was quoted by the Government’s portal chinhphu.vn as saying at the opening ceremony that HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay is the country’s best expressway as rated by the State Appraisal Committee.

Cost saving

HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway stretches 55 kilometers from An Phu Intersection in HCMC’s District 2 to Dau Giay Intersection of National Highway 1A. According to transport enterprises, the expressway will help them save much time and money.

Trinh Chau Khanh, director of Kim Loi Minh Transport Company, calculated that since the first 20-kilometer-long section of the expressway was put into use early last year, his company has cut fuel cost by 20% when transporting goods from Cat Lai Port in HCMC to the industrial parks in Nhon Trach and Long Thanh districts in neighboring Dong Nai Province.

Tran Thanh Bao from bus service provider Thien Phu said smoother travel and higher speed on the expressway helps the firm reduce 20% of its fuel cost for the trips between HCMC and Vung Tau City compared to the old route that passes through Hanoi Highway, National Highway 1A and National Highway 51.

Thai Van Chung, general secretary of the HCMC Goods Transport Association, said transport companies in HCMC have long expected the completion of HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway as it will benefit them significantly.

Chung said the opening of the entire expressway enables enterprises transporting goods to localities in the central and Central Highlands regions save a lot.

Pham Hong Quang, deputy general director of Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), told the Daily that the expressway’s highest traffic rate is 25,000 passenger car units (PCU) per day.

The traffic rate of the first 20-kilometer section put into use last year has reached 18,000 PCU per day. Quang believed traffic will be higher after the entire expressway was opened to traffic.

More visitors to Binh Thuan

The expressway will bring more benefits to not only transport firms but also tour operators who are pinning high hopes that they will attract more guests to their tours to Binh Thuan Province.

Vo Anh Tai, general director of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, said the expressway helps vehicles run faster and safer, and shorter traveling time gives tourists more time to enjoy and relax in the south-central province.

“We have launched new tours to the northwestern region after the Hanoi-Lao Cai Expressway was opened to traffic recently. This time, we will offer new tours to Binh Thuan Province,” Tai said.

Nguyen Van Khoa, chairman of the Binh Thuan Tourism Association, said it is too early to say the new road will create a breakthrough for the province’s tourism sector. But he said as a large proportion of visitors to Binh Thuan depart from HCMC, the expressway is a better way for them to travel to the province.

HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway is expected to fuel economic growth in the southern region - PHOTO: ANH QUAN

“Tourists now spend 5-6 hours traveling by car from HCMC to Binh Thuan Province on the old route but 3-3.5 hours on the new route,” Khoa said.

The Binh Thuan Tourism Association plans to organize an event in HCMC to introduce the province’s tourism services and products, and provide tour operators with guidance for tour itineraries after the entire expressway is in use.

Binh Thuan welcomed around 3.76 million tourists last year, with international tourists accounting for some 400,000.

HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay consists of four lanes and two lanes for emergency stops. The maximum speed on the section between An Phu Intersection and the intersection at Belt Road No. 2 in HCMC is 80 kilometers per hour.

Vehicles can run at a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour between the intersection at Belt Road No. 2 and Dau Giay Intersection and a minimum speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

Regarding toll collections, cars of under 12 seats, trucks of under two tons and buses have to pay VND100,000 if they use the entire expressway, while over-28-ton trucks and 40-foot container trucks pay VND400,000 per time. The respective tolls for the expressway section from National Highway 51 to Dau Giay are VND60,000 and VND240,000 per time.

The first phase of HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway required an investment of VND20.630 trillion funded by official development assistance (ODA) loans and the Government’s reciprocal capital.

The Prime Minister said priority capital would be used for a number of major road projects in the coming time, including expanding National Highway 1A.

The Ministry of Transport will start work on an expressway linking Dau Giay Intersection with Binh Thuan Province’s Phan Thiet City this year. In addition, the ministry will call for investors to invest in belt roads No. 3 and No. 4, major roads in the south to connect HCMC with Binh Duong, Dong Nai and other nearby localities.

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