The Prime Minister has approved the master plan for the Hanoi region’s fifth ring road, which will be more than 330 kilometres long, according to Nhan Dan newspaper.

The move came following the approval of master plans for the Hanoi region and the development of Vietnam’s highway system, the newspaper said.

The ring road is planned to run through Hanoi and seven provinces including Hoa Binh, Ha Nam, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen and Vinh Phuc.

It will have 41 kilometres overlapping the Noi Bai – Ha Long, Hanoi – Thai Nguyen, Noi Bai – Lao Cai Highways and National Highway 3.

Total investment for the ring road is estimated at over 85.6 trillion VND (4 billion USD).

It is scheduled to open to traffic by 2020, with either two or four lanes and will be expanded to four lanes on the entire route over the next decade.-VNA