The ministry had borrowed government-guaranteed loans for constructing the La Son – Tuy Loan Expressway ($33 million) between Thua Thien Hue Province and Da Nang City in the central region and upgrading a section of the National Route 20 ($19 million) in the south.

The ministry needs to repay the amount this year.

The 80-kilometer La Son–Tuy Loan Expressway cost nearly VND11.5 trillion ($495 million) and was built to ease traffic on the existing National Route 1 and foster economic development in the central region. It is nearly complete and will open to traffic this year.

The upgrade of National Route 20 in 2015 covered 123 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City to the central highlands town of Da Lat.

It cost nearly VND5.3 trillion and involved mostly widening it to allow higher speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.