A section of Hồ Chí Minh Highway running through Đắk Lắk Province. Construction will begin on new 39km bypass around Đắk Lắk Province’s Buôn Ma Thuột City on Hồ Chí Minh Highway this year. — Photo laodong.vn

ĐẮK LẮK — The Ministry of Transport has approved the construction of a 39km bypass around Buôn Ma Thuột City on Hồ Chí Minh Highway in the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Đắk Lắk.

The new bypass is expected to reduce traffic load on the National Highway No 14, which is part of the Hồ Chí Minh Highway and the main road leading to the Buôn Ma Thuột City.

It will also promote the effectiveness of the Hồ Chí Minh Highway and create a complete transport network in the Central Highlands provinces, contributing to the region’s socio economic development.

The province’s management board of investment for construction of traffic works and agriculture and rural development has been assigned to conduct a feasibility study for the bypass project.

The project has total investment capital of more than VNĐ1.5 trillion (US$65 million) from the Government.

Of the amount, around VNĐ90 billion ($3.8 million) will be allocated this year.

The bypass will begin at the intersection with National Highway No 14 in Cư M’gar District’s Ea Đrơng Commune and end at the intersection with National Highway No 14 in Buôn Ma Thuột City’s Hòa Phú Commune.

It will be 12m wide with two lanes with a designed maximum speed of 80km per hour.

Construction is scheduled to begin this year and be completed in 2023.

The 3,167km Hồ Chí Minh Highway spans 30 provinces and cities from the northern border province of Cao Bằng to the southernmost province of Cà Mau.

Buôn Ma Thuột City is projected to become the central municipality of the Central Highlands, and a hub for promoting trade, cooperation and cultural exchanges in the Cambodia-Laos-Việt Nam Development Triangle Area. — VNS