Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved the early opening on Feb.3 of the first expressway connecting HCM City with Tien Giang province and other provinces in Mekong Delta, prior to its completion.

The approval as proposed by the Transport Ministry aims to help ease traffic congestion on National Highway 1A, which is to soar ahead of Tet (Lunar New Year) that falls on February 14.

Prime Minister Dung ordered the Transport Ministry to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and local authorities, to ensure the safety of travellers on the new road.

Dung asked the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and the Expressway Development Company (BEDC), the investors of the highway, to join hands with the Transport Ministry in managing and operating the highway temporarily.

Only vehicles driving over 70km per hour are permitted on the expressway. Slow vehicles and trucks more than 4.2m high and wider than 2.8m are prohibited.

The HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway is around 62km long with eight lanes and allows a speed limit of 120 km per hour.

Total investment in the project is approximately 9.88 trillion VND (535 million USD) from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam./.