Central Highlands provinces are accelerating the construction of a section of the Ho Chi Minh Highway running through the region in a bid to complete it by 2016.

The 663 km section runs through Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong, ending in Chon Thanh, the southern province of Binh Phuoc . It links the region with central and southern key economic zones.

According to the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands, the first construction phase of the 110 km route from Dak Gion to Tan Canh in Kon Tum province has been completed.

The remaining 553 km of the section from Tan Canh to Chon Thanh is divided into 24 projects.

Of them, 13 projects are funded through Government bonds. About 80 km of the projects’ total 133 km has been completed, and the remainder is expected to be operational by the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, five others under the Build-Operate-Transfer model are scheduled to open to traffic by 2015.

The 3,167 km highway traverses from the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang to the southernmost province of Ca Mau . It is to the west of National Road 1A and roughly follows the Ho Chi Minh Trail used during the American war.-VNA