Fifteen bids have been received for the 63-kilometer Mai Son – National Route 45 section between northern Ninh Binh Province and central Thanh Hoa Province.

The 104-kilometer Vinh Hao – Phan Thiet section running through four districts of the central province of Binh Thuan has attracted 16 bids.

A 98-kilometer section between Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan and Dau Giay in the southern Dong Nai Province has received 13 bids.

"The Ministry of Transport has set stringent criteria in order to attract the most reputable, experienced and capable contractors," Nguyen Duy Lam, director of the ministry’s construction management and traffic quality, said Wednesday.

The results of the bidding would be announced by the end of this month, he added.

The National Assembly decided in June to fund these three sections, which need to completed quickly, publicly after failing to find interest among private investors.

This reduced the number of sections to be built through public-private partnerships (PPP) in the eastern cluster of the North-South Expressway from eight to five.

The cluster will have a total of 11 sections running 653 kilometers. It is one of the most prioritized transport projects as the government seeks to renovate the country’s outdated infrastructure to foster economic growth.

Last year the transport ministry had tried to find foreign investors for the eight sections, but few got through the qualification round resulting in low competition.

It then decided to invite bids only from domestic companies also to "ensure national security and expand Vietnamese firms’ capability in infrastructure construction."