Asia Times: Southeast Asia


	June 5, 2002	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Vietnam land issues hold up Trans-Asia Highway

HANOI - Work to upgrade the Trans-Asia Highway has slipped behind schedule after nearly three years of construction, with Vietnamese authorities citing problems with land clearance as a major obstacle.

Construction work on the road, which will link Ho Chi Minh City with Phnom Penh, has bogged down in densely populated districts of Ho Chi Minh City. Eleven sections of the road have been held back by land-clearance problems, particularly in the city's Thu Duc District, said Do Ngoc Dung, deputy director general of the My Thuan Project Management Unit.

Residents in the Song Than area were offered compensation to relocate and many have either failed to do so or simply held out for higher prices.

The Vietnam stretch of the highway involves 80 kilometers of new road and upgrades to a 50km stretch of existing road. Work started in November 1999. So far, 50km of the new and existing road has been paved.

Apart from land-clearance issues, changes to the design have also slowed progress on the road. The Binh Phuoc Bridge, which runs along the route, has been expanded, increasing its cost from VND62 billion (US$4.1 million) to VND104 billion ($6.9 million).

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Viet Tien has urged construction units to get cracking on land clearance. But Tien also asked units to ensure the quality of construction is not affected by the rush to complete the road.

Once finished, the highway will serve as an economic corridor linking Thi Vai deepwater seaport in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province via Ho Chi Minh City's Sai Gon Port to the Moc Bai border gate and on into Cambodia.

The highway, part of a subregional co-operation program initiated by the Asian Development Bank, is designed to boost trade between Cambodia and Vietnam. The road will eventually extend to link other Asian nations.

(Asia Pulse/VNA)