The Ministry of Transport plans to seek approval for funding from the South Korean government for a portion of Belt Road 3 from Tan Van District to Nhon Trach District in Dong Nai Province, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The ministry is seeking approval of the South Korean investment from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Around 8.7km of a 17.8-km section of the Belt Road 3 project would be funded by loans from the Republic of Korea and the rest from investments under a BOT (build-operate-transfer) model, according to Tran Van Thi, CEO of the transport ministry’s Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure.

The PM has approved detailed planning for Belt Road 3, which will have a total length of 89.3km and pass through HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has funded a total of 47km for the Belt Road 3 project from Binh Duong Province’s Thuan An District to National Road 22 in HCM City’s Hoc Mon District, as well as from National Road 22 to Long An Province’s Ben Luc District.

The first phase of the road project will include construction of four lanes, while the second phase will add four more lanes, Thi said.

Six lanes of the road will be used for commuting and two lanes for emergency stops. The road, which will connect highways and national roads, is expected to reduce congestion in the inner city and boost inter-provincial transport services.

The project has total investment of VND55.805 trillion (US$2.46 billion) sourced from the State budget, Official Development Assistance and the private sector. — VNS