Ministry to ask government to fund part of Hanoi – China border expressway

If it agrees, the government will provide VND3 trillion ($129 million) out of the VND7.6 trillion ($328 million) cost of the 43-kilometer Huu Nghi – Chi Lang Expressway in the northern province of Lang Son, which is expected to ease travel between Hanoi and the border.

The rest of the money will come from a bank loan (26.3 percent), the company building it (21.1 percent) and the province (13.2 percent).

The ministry will also propose that the government should consider the expressway a key national infrastructure project so that it is prioritized in the 2021-25 budget.

The Huu Nghi – Chi Lang Expressway is the last section of a network of expressways that will link Hanoi with the key Huu Nghi Border Gate.

The government approved the project in 2016 but the company building it, BOT BGLS-HN. Jsc, has struggled with funding after the bank it approached, BIDV, only agreed to provide credit if the company could raise over VND3 trillion ($129 million). 

The expressway will have four lanes for 27 kilometers and two lanes for the remaining 16 kilometers. The company will collect toll for 19 years and five months.

BIDV, of which the state holds the majority stake, is one of Vietnam's largest banks by assets.