HANOI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is striving to basically complete the construction of eastern route of the North-South Expressway by 2020, said Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
Dung made the remark at a meeting on proposal of North-South expressway investment in capital Hanoi, reported Vietnam's state-run radio VOV on Friday.
According to Dung, the construction of Vietnam's North-South expressway cannot be delayed as it will provide foundation for the country's development.
"We will not be able to integrate, industrialize and modernize with weak transport infrastructure," said Dung.
Speaking at the meeting, Vietnamese Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia said in Vietnam, there will be two North-South expressway routes.
The eastern route will follow existing National Highway No. 1 and run parallel with that highway while the western route will follow Ho Chi Minh Road.
The eastern route of Vietnam's North-South Expressway will be 1,814 km long, with its first point in capital Hanoi's Phap Van and the last point in southern Can Tho City.
Currently, several short sections of the route have been put into operation, with total length of 171 km, said Nghia.
Moreover, other 302-km-long sections are under construction.
According to the Ministry of Transport (MoT), Vietnam is in need of 235.952 trillion Vietnamese dong (10.58 billion U.S. dollars) to complete the eastern route.
