The 67-kilometer expressway will have four lanes and allow vehicles to travel at up to 80 kilometers per hour, according to a pre-feasibility report drawn up by the Ministry of Transport’s Thang Long Project Management Unit.

It will run from Tan Phu District in Dong Nai to Bao Loc Town, which is famous for tea.

Construction will begin in the third quarter of 2022 under the build-operate-transfer model and take around three years.

Nguyen Van Huan, deputy director of the management unit, said the expressway would be linked with the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway between HCMC and Dong Nai, reducing travel time between the Central Highlands and the southern region.

Lam Dong Province lawmakers had earlier this year called on the ministry to build the expressway to reduce the congestion in the Bao Loc Pass.

Vietnam has in recent years been building and upgrading expressways in the south to foster economic growth.

The ministry had in August approved widening of the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway from eight to 10 lanes during the next decade.

It is also studying the possibility of building a 130-kilometer expressway between Can Tho City and Ca Mau Province in 2021-2025.