Hung said that so far, along with domestic firms, a number of foreign investors, including those from the Republic of Korea, France and Japan, have shown interest in the project.
The project will be implemented in the public-private partnership (PPP) format.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the section from National Highway 45 to Nghi Son under the Eastern North-South Expressway is 43 km in length, with a total investment of about 6.3 trillion VND (207.9 million USD), with the State budget funding about 2 trillion VND (86 million USD).
It has 11 component projects, including three State-invested and eight PPP projects.
Mien Trung Construction Group has also expressed interest in the project.
According to the Ministry of Transport, Project Management Unit No. 2 will issue bidding papers to select investors for the section today, May 8. Enterprises wishing to get involved in the project can submit tender applications until July 8.
International tenders will be held for eight parts of the cross-country expressway. The Ministry of Transport will assess candidates’ capabilities and experience in executing similar projects.
Enterprises will be put on the shortlist if they meet at least 60% of the requirements. Financial capacity will account for 60% of the requirements, while experience and proposed methods for executing the project will make up 30% and 10% of the requirements, respectively.
The 2,100-kilometer North-South expressway project will run through 32 cities and provinces and connect the four key economic zones, urban areas, seaports and economic hubs.
In the first phase, 654 kilometers of the expressway, divided into 11 subprojects, will be built with a total investment of over VND118.7 trillion, of which VND55 trillion will come from the State budget and over VND63.7 trillion from the private sector.
The Ministry of Transport has approved the feasibility studies for these 11 subprojects, including eight public-private partnership subprojects and three others receiving State funding.