The bridge and approaching road to the Hải Vân Road Tunnel 2 are mostly complete.— VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI — The 6.2-km Hải Vân Road Tunnel 2 – the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia, connecting the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế and Đà Nẵng City, is very near completion after the final section was excavated.

Nguyễn Tấn Đông, vice chairman of Đèo Cả Joint Stock Company – the unit constructing the tunnel – said the project marked an important milestone in the national transport sector because it was the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia, with construction completed by Vietnamese workers.

“We are mobilising many teams to do three shifts all day and night to bring the project to completion as scheduled by the end of 2020,” Đông said.

Construction of the approaching road, linking Lăng Cô Town in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province to the tunnel, was 95 per cent finished, he said.

For Hải Vân Bridge, the contractor has already completed 23 of 26 girder bridges so far, the online newspaper Zing reported.

Đông said compared to the plan, the construction was more than two months ahead of schedule, so it was feasible that the tunnel would be put into operation by the end of 2020.

While the Hải Vân Road Tunnel 2 was officially put into operation, it was expected to help in reducing traffic pressure for the current Hải Vân Road Tunnel 1. It would shorten travelling time for vehicles and improve the efficiency of transporting goods and passengers, he said.

Phạm Thanh Hà, deputy director of the Hải Vân Road Tunnel project management unit, said the unit had drawn experiences from the construction of Cả Pass, so, the progress of construction of the tunnel was faster than scheduled.

The project of expanding Hải Vân Road Tunnel was approved by the Ministry of Transport in 2016, including two stages with a total investment of more than VNĐ7.2 trillion (US$310 million). The first stage is to repair and upgrade the existing Hải Vân Road Tunnel 1 and improve a section of National Highway No 1 running through the Hải Vân Pass.

The construction of Hải Vân Road Tunnel 2 is very near to completion after the last section was excavated.—VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

The second stage is to broaden a tunnel, which was used for the excavation, into a traffic tunnel – Hải Vân Road Tunnel 2 – with four lanes and an approaching road to the tunnel of the same scale. The entire route is set to be put into operation by the end of 2020.

The Hải Vân Road Tunnel 2, which is 6.2 km in length, built through a mountain, is designed with two sections for vehicles; each section is 9.7 metres in width. The north approaching road to the tunnel is about 1.7 km long and the southern approaching road is 4 km. — VNS