Quang Ninh (VNA) – Playing an important role in the Hanoi-HaiPhong-Quang Ninh economic triangle and serving as a gateway for trade betweenVietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, thenorthern coastal province of Quang Ninh has been making several breakthroughsto develop local transport infrastructure and meet the burgeoning economicgrowth.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Long, itwould take the province 10 years to complete its comprehensive, moderntransport infrastructure if it only relied on State allocation and localbudget. However, Quang Ninh has made a quantum leap with various measures takento lure private investment.

Thanks to concerted efforts to improve the business climate, within threeyears, the locality secured 36 trillion VND (1.53 billion USD) in transportprojects, three quarters of which were mobilised from the private sector. Aline-up of investors have come to the province to branch out key transportprojects under build-transfer (BT), build-operate-transfer (BOT), andpublic-private partnership (PPP) contracts.

The 474.4-million-USD Van Don-Mong Cai highway project will be developed under aBOT and PPP contract inked between the provincial People’s Committee, the jointventure of Long Van Infrastructure Investment and Development Co.,Ltd, Van DonSun JSC, and Cong Thanh Transportation and Construction Corporation. The jointventure will invest more than 1.26 trillion VND (54.3 million USD) and mobilisenearly 9.86 trillion VND (425.24 million USD) for the project.

The 80.2km Van Don-Mong Cai highway will have four lanes and is designed for anaverage speed of 100km/hr. It will run through the districts of Van Don, TienYen, Dam Ha, and Hai Ha, as well as Mong Cai city.

Construction is scheduled to kick off sometime this year and be completedwithin 22 months. Fees will be collected for 20 years on the way.

The Van Don-Mong Cai highway is among the three key transport projects of 2018announced by the province earlier this year. The other two are the Ha Long-CamPha coastal road and an undersea tunnel through Cua Luc Bay (the gateway to HaLong Bay).

The 27km coastal road linking Ha Long to Cam Pha is implemented under the BT form,with a total investment of 5.6 trillion VND (246.4 million USD). Constructionof the road, invested in by Vingroup, began at the end of June this year. Oncecompleted, the road is expected to help ease traffic on the section of NationalHighway 18A that runs through Cam Pha city, while also forming a modern andcomprehensive transport network connecting urban areas in the province.

Meanwhile, the 1.3km undersea tunnel project in HaLong city is estimated to cost 7.875 trillion VND (346.5 million USD) under aBT contract. It will start at the intersection that leads into Sun World HaLong Park (Bai Chay Ward) and end at the intersection in Hong Gai Ward –considered as the “main axes” on each side of Cua Luc Bay.

The tunnel is expected to help connect transport alongthe coastal roads of Ha Long city.

Together with other local transport projects such asthe Hai Phong-Ha Long and Ha Long-Van Don highways, as well as upgrades toNational Highway 18, key projects are hoped to improve the province’s transportinfrastructure system, thus contributing to local socio-economic developmentand promoting local tourism and increasing the potential of border and marineeconomies.

In addition, the Bach Dang bridge connecting thenorthern port city of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh was put into operation in earlySeptember. It helps shorten the distance from Hanoi to Quang Ninh from 175km to125km, thus cutting the travel time between the two localities.

Furthermore, the Van Don International Airport, invested at a total cost ofnearly 7.5 trillion VND (319.47 million USD), has stayed in the limelight ofthe local infrastructure system. This is the very first airport project inVietnam to apply the BOT investment model.

Vice Director of the provincial Department of Transport Bui Hong Minh said thatthe BOT projects have created momentum to develop tourism, enhance tradeexchange, while also improving its competitive capacity and bettering thequality of life for local people.

BOT and PPP investment models should be applied in a flexible manner and localauthorities should create a friendly business environment to make Quang Ninh amore attractive destination to powerful investors. –VNA