The road, which will be constructed under the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model, is expected to be complete in 2016, the ministry said.

The expressway will be 45.8km and have a speed limit of 100km per hour, starts at the crossroad of National Road 31 in Bac Giang Province and ends at the Phu Dong old toll station in Ha Noi.

Under the project, the part from the intersection of National Road 31 to Nhu Nguyet Bridge passing Cau Bridge that connects Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces, will be expanded into six lanes with a width of 33m. The rest will keep the original width of 34m.

It will take some 19 years and eight months for the project to recover its investment capital, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The project will help reduce traffic accidents and congestion, contributing to the socio-economic development of Ha Noi as well as Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces.

National Highway (Ha Noi – Bac Giang) was put into operation in 2001. The road, which had seriously deteriorated, was often heavily congested.

PM okays bridge

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given the official nod to a project to build a bridge in the northern province of Phu Tho under the Build-Transfer investment form.

The Dong Quang bridge, which is 746 metres long and 10 metres wide, will link the provincial road in Minh Quang Commune in Ha Noi's Ba Vi District with the provincial road in Dong Luan Commune in Phu Tho's Thanh Thuy District.

The project is expected to help boost the link between Ha Noi and Phu Tho as well as other provinces in the north, contributing to socio-economic development in the region in general and Phu Tho Province in particular.

The PM asked Phu Tho Province to use the provincial budget to refund the project's investor.