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Vietnamese Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu Expressway Feasibility Study Completed - Cost Estimated To Be US $3.17 billion

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Vietnamese Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu Expressway Feasibility Study Completed - Cost Estimated To Be US $3.17 billion
Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway - Vietnamese Ministry of Transport

The feasibility study into a new Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu Expressway, which would span more than 175 km and connect southern Cambodia to southwest Vietnam, has a proposed cost of US $3.17 billion. The My Thuan Project Management Board has handed the preliminary feasibility study to the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport.

The Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu Expressway, if approved, is due to start at Ha Tien International Border Gate in Ha Tien City, Kien Giang Province, and end at National Highway 1 in Bac Lieu City, Bac Lieu Province with a total distance of approximately 175.5 km.

The expressway, which will have a speed limit of 100 kph, aims to connect the two countries and create a horizontal route that boosts socio-economic development in the region. Currently, the Vietnamese are looking into a total of six expressways in the western region, covering 1,200 km with four to six lanes. A government mandate has aimed to have 600 km of expressways completed by the end of 2025 and 1,200 km by 2030.

The Ha Tien-Rach Gia -Bac Lieu Expressway will consist of:

  • Four lanes.
  • Two emergency lanes.
  • The route will pass through four provinces in the Mekong Delta: Kien Giang (82 km), Hau Giang (18 km), Soc Trang (13 km), and Bac Lieu (25.3 km) on the Vietnam side.

Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway /  Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway

The Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway is another key approved transport artery and will link to the under-construction Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway, which started development in 2023 and is expected to be completed and in operation by December 2027. This forms part of the broader Belt and Road Initiative.

The Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway project was approved by the Vietnamese in August 2024, while in Cambodia, the construction on the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway officially commenced on June 7, 2023.

The Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway is estimated to cost US $1.3 billion and has been invested in by the China Road and Bridge Corporation in the form of a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, with an operational period of 50 years granted to the Chinese partner. This expressway is 50 kilometres long and initially will only feature four lanes, with plans to expand to six lanes at a later date.

Cambodia also completed a feasibility study for the Phnom Penh-Siem Reap-Poipet Expressway in 2024 which was undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) in July 2024. If approved, it will be the third expressway built in Cambodia, following the successful launch of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway in 2022, and the ongoing construction of the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway.

Phnom Penh-Siem Reap-Poipet Expressway./Image source: MPWT

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