The elevated Belt Road No. 4 – Hanoi Capital Area (red line) will connect Hanoi with the surrounding provinces – PHOTO: MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

HCMC – The chairpersons of Hanoi City and the Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Vinh Phuc provinces have sent the prime minister a proposal to build the elevated Belt Road No. 4 – Hanoi Capital Area at a construction cost of VND135 trillion.

The belt road is 98 kilometers long, including 56.5 kilometers in Hanoi, 20.3 kilometers in Hung Yen and 21.2 kilometers in Bac Ninh. The belt road will not run across Vinh Phuc and Bac Giang but the provinces are adjacent to the start and end points of the road.

If approved, Belt Road No. 4 – Hanoi Capital Area will be the longest elevated road in the country. The project is expected to contribute to the urban and industrial development, trade and services of the northern key economic zone and the Red River Delta.

Besides a construction cost of VND135 trillion, the project will need VND25 trillion for site clearance. It is infeasible to source investment for the project entirely from the State budget, so the five localities proposed building the road under the public-private partnership.

They also suggested that the project should not be separated into sub projects to ensure synchronism and connectivity.

The Ministry of Transport has agreed that Hanoi City will take the leading role in implementing the project. The capital city will be in charge of selecting experienced and qualified investors as well as negotiating and signing contracts with the investors.