The first section of the highway linking Hanoi capital and Hai Phong city, the two northern economic hubs, was put into temporary use on May 27.

The two-way section starts at the highway’s intersection with National Road 10 and ends at another intersection with Provincial Road 353 in Hai Phong. It is 22.7km long and 33m wide and has six lanes and two shoulders.

Vehicles are allowed to travel on this section at the maximum speed of 120km per hour.

The Hanoi-Hai Phong highway, commenced on May 19, 2008, begins at the Belt Road 3 in the capital city, traverses Hung Yen and Hai Duong provinces, and ends at Dinh Vu port of Hai Phong.

The 105km road is built at a total cost of 30 trillion VND (1.42 billion USD) under the Built-Operate-Transfer contract, said the project investor – Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company.

The firm said it will collect tolls on this section from June 1 with the maximum of 180,000 VND (8.5 USD) per vehicle, varying with vehicle types.-VNA