ĐÀ NẴNG —Đèo Cả Investment joint-stock company on Sunday began construction on a project expanding the single-lane Hải Vân rescue tunnel into a two-lane traffic route, and upgrading the current Hải Vân two-lane tunnel.

The company said that the single-lane rescue tunnel, or Hải Vân tunnel 2, which runs parallel to the two-lane Hải Vân 1 tunnel, will comprise a 6.29km tunnel and 5.85km entrance roads at the two sides of the tunnel.

The two stages of upgrading Hải Vân Tunnel 1 and expanding Hải Vân 2 tunnel, which includes the entrance road system, infrastructure and rescue lanes between the two tunnels, will cost VNĐ7.3 trillion (US$323 million).

The first stage of the project, which focuses on upgrading Hải Vân Tunnel 1, will be completed in the second quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, the second stage, which aims to expand the single-lane Hải Vân rescue tunnel into a two-lane tunnel route, is scheduled for completion in 2020.

According to Đèo Cả, nearly 2.8 million vehicles passed through the Hải Vân Tunnel 1 in 2016.

The company said the project will be undertaken with design and consultancy by Nippon Koei (Japan) and Nippon Koei Việt Nam International.

The rescue tunnel expansion project will be built under the Built-Operate-Transfer system.

According to the Hải Vân Tunnel Management and Development Company, who manages the tunnel, between 2005 and 2014, 11 vehicles overturned in the tunnel.

There were also 53 accidents and 41 vehicle fires in the period.

The project, which was part of Japan’s Official Development Assistance, at a cost of $150 million, is the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia.

It plays a key role in the East-West Economic Corridor that links Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Việt Nam, and National Highway No 1.

Last year, the Đèo Cả Company also built the 3.9km Đèo Cả Tunnel on National Highway 1 to link the two central provinces of Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa.

In 2015, the Ministry of Transport started construction of the 80km La Sơn- Túy Loan section on the Hồ Chí Minh Highway in central Thừa Thiên-Huế province to help reduce congestion through the Hải Vân tunnel.

The Hải Vân Pass is the only road allowing tankers or road adventurers to travel between Đà Nẵng and Thừa Thiên-Huế since the Hải Vân tunnel 1 became operational in 2005.  — VNS