A part of Nha Trang – Cam Lam Expressway in Khanh Hoa Province on Monday.
The expressway runs 49 km between Cam Ranh and Dien Khanh District's DienTho commune, which lies 23.5 km from the beach town of Nha Trang.
Workers install a sign on the expressway.
Funded by Son Hai Co., Ltd., the project is being established under the build-operate-transfer format.
Construction started in September 2021, and work was finished three months ahead of schedule.
There are 18 emergency stops along the expressway.
The investor said the contractor has applied advanced technologies using equipment from outside Vietnam, which has saved not just construction time but reduce the total cost for the project.
Nguyen Van Huy, director of Nha Trang – Cam Lam Expressway Investment Company which is building the expressway, said last month that the construction had started amid difficulties caused by Covid-19 and the rising price of building materials.
But the company was able to stick to the schedule by having clear funding plans in place and using modern technologies.
The company uses machinery from the U.S. and Europe while technologies used in the road coating process helped cut construction time by half and reduce the number of workers from 20 to only five, he said.
Costing more than VND7.6 trillion (US$323.7 million), the project comprises 15 bridges and 10 overpasses.
Lying 80 km to the south, Vinh Hao – Phan Thiet Expressway is also set to be put into use on Friday.
Running 101 km through four districts of Binh Thuan Province, the expressway has six lanes and costs nearly VND11 trillion from the state budget.
Workers paint part of the expressway in Ham Thuan Bac District.
Once entering service, Vinh Hao – Phan Thiet Expressway will be linked with Phan Thiet – Dau Giay Expressway, which was opened on April 29, to shorten the time to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to the beach town of Phan Thiet from five to two hours.
The two expressways will be open to traffic from 10 a.m. on Friday, allowing speed from 60 to 80 kph.
An infographic of the two new expressways.
There will be five expressways between HCMC and Nha Trang: HCMC – Long Thanh – Dau Giay, Dau Giay – Phan Thiet, Vinh Hao – Phan Thiet, Cam Lam – Vinh Hoa, and Nha Trang – Cam Lam.
Once they are all put into use, the time to travel from HCMC to Nha Trang by road is expected to be shortened significantly from the current seven hours.
At the moment, only Cam Lam – Vinh Hao, which is more than 78 km long, is still under construction.
