Hai Van Tunnel 2 linking Thua Thien-Hue with Da Nang officially opens
The two-lane Hai Van Tunnel 2 connecting Thua Thien-Hue Province with Da Nang, Southeast Asia's longest of its kind, today, 2 February, officially opened to traffic for 20 days to meet high public travel demand at the upcoming Tet festival.
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| The inside of the Hai Van Tunnel 2 |
However, from 21 February, Hai Van Tunnel 1 will still operate as normal whereas Hai Van Tunnel 2 will stop operating until further notice from Viet Nam's national government.
The new tunnel, which reduces traffic pressure on the over 15-year-old parallel Hai Van Tunnel 1, is highly expected to enhance transport capacity, reduce travel expenses, shorten travel time for vehicles on the North-South road, promote regional economic development, enhance national competitiveness, and ensure national defence and security in the coming time.
The 1st stage of the project focused on upgrading the existing main Hai Van Tunnel and a section of the National Highway 1A. The construction work began in April 2016 and completed in August 2017.
The 2nd stage of the project involved the expansion of the over 6.2 km-long, two-lane emergency tunnel, which lies parallel to the Hai Van Tunnel 1, into a two-lane tunnel; as well as building a new 1.7 km-long stretch of road to Thua Thien-Hue Province’s Lang Co Town, and a 4 km-long roadway leading to Da Nang.
The Hai Van Tunnel 2 is designed for one-way traffic, with two lanes totalling seven metres in width, plus safety strips and sidewalks for pedestrians and maintenance work.
Its brief opening during Tet is mainly attributed to the matter that Vietnamese government has not invested its share of the cost, the private partner in the project said.
The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered Deo Ca Investment JSC, the private partner in the public - private partnership that built the tunnel, said it costs 100 billion VND (4.33 million$) a year to operate the tunnel, but it is now facing financial issues since it has not received the national government’s share. This led to the matter that it could not afford to keep the tunnel open after Tet.
The new tunnel’s official inauguration took place on 11 January.
By THANH LAN- Translated by A.T