The Ministry of Transport said six investors have expressed interest in a section connecting the provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, four from South Korea and China. The other section, between Nghe An and Ha Tinh has 10 prospective investors, seven from the two countries.

The ministry will start evaluating the applicants within three months, and after that call for bids for the two sections. Both of the sections will be built in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The first section will run 50 kilometers from the coastal Nghi Son Commune in Thanh Hoa to Dien Chau District in Nghe An. Its construction cost is estimated at VND8.38 trillion ($360.47 million), with VND2.55 trillion ($109.69 million), or 30.4 percent, coming from the government and the rest from the investor.

The second section will run 49 kilometers, starting from where the first section ends and going up to the Bai Vot junction in Ha Tinh. It will cost VND13.3 trillion ($572.11 million), with the government investing over VND8 trillion ($344.13 million), or 60.1 percent.

The sections make up one of eight components of the North-South Expressway to be built under the PPP model. Three others will be completely funded by the government.

Together, the 11 components are expected to cost VND118 trillion ($5.06 billion), with VND55 trillion ($2.36 billion) coming from the government.

They will cover 654 kilometers of the 2,000-kilometer expressway from Nam Dinh Province near Hanoi to Vinh Long Province in the Mekong Delta.

Forty investors have expressed interest in the eight PPP components, according to the ministry.

The ministry will award contracts to investors based on three criteria: financial capability, which makes up 60 percent of the overall score, experience (30 percent) and methods (10 percent).

The deadline for obtaining bid documents is July 10, after which the ministry will start the bidding process, with construction possibly beginning next April.

The government will provide the lands required for building the highway, the ministry has said.