PM okays transport plan for Mekong Delta

A plan for transport development in the Mekong Delta's key economic zone targets 5.1 percent annual growth in the number of passengers and 8.1 percent growth in the volume of goods carried over the next several years.
A plan for transport development in the Mekong Delta's key economic zone targets 5.1 percent annual growth in the number of passengers and 8.1 percent growth in the volume of goods carried over the next several years.

The key economic zone, comprising Can Tho City and An Giang, Kien Giang, and Ca Mau provinces, is expected to transport 450-500 million passengers a year and 100-110 million tonnes of goods by 2020.
The plan, drafted by the Ministry of Transport, was recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

It also targets linking every commune with roads that good enough for automobiles, and island communes with bridges or ferries by 2015.

By then, all district-level and 70 percent of commune-level roads will be paved, and all foot-bridges will be eliminated.

Several expressways and new provincial roads will be built, and existing national highways will be upgraded by 2020.


Those to be built include the 32.3km My Thuan – Can Tho expressway, 150km Can Tho – Ca Mau expressway, 200km Chau Doc – Can Tho – Soc Trang Province expressway, and 225km Ha Tien – Rach Gia – Bac Lieu Province expressway.

The plan will explore the feasibility of building the HCM City – My Tho – Can Tho rail link.
It also seeks to develop ports and river routes leading up to them, with priority to be given to major ports in Can Tho and Phu Quoc to meet the region's transport needs.

The ports will handle around 58.5 million tonnes of goods a year by 2020.
The Can Tho International airport, Ca Mau airport, and Rach Gia airport will be upgraded, and construction of the Phu Quoc International airport will be completed.

By 2020 the region's airports will handle around 11.8 million passengers a year.

The plan seeks to develop five major transport corridors: HCM City – Can Tho – Ca Mau; HCM City – Long Xuyen city in An Giang – Rach Gia city in Kien Giang; HCM City – Ha Tien city also in Kien Giang; Can Tho – Long Xuyen – Chau Doc town in An Giang; and Ha Tien – Rach Gia – Ca Mau.

The total area required for transport infrastructure in the zone by 2020 is estimated at 696.64sq.km, or slightly more than now./.

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