Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on June 23 pressed the button to kick off a project to expand a stretch of National Highway 1A in central Quang Tri province.

The 15.54 km six-lane section from Gio Linh district to Dong Ha city will be built at a cost of over 1 trillion VND (47.6 million USD). It is expected to be completed in December 2015.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Phuc asked investors to work hard to ensure the project is completed on schedule.

As one of the important sections of the expanded National Highway 1A linking Hanoi and Can Tho, the section is expected to reduce traffic accidents and boost socio-economic development in Quang Tri province and the central region as a whole.

On the same day, Deputy PM Phuc also attended a ceremony to commence the expansion of a Highway 1A section running through the central province of Quang Binh .

The over 33-km section, which starts in Quang Ninh district and finishes in Le Thuy district will be built at a cost of 982 billion VND (46.7 million USD).

As the most important highway in Vietnam, the National Highway 1A runs through half of provinces and cities in the country, linking major cities of Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho-VNA