HCM to Bavet expressway slated to open in 2027

Vietnamese state authorities have confirmed that a new expressway project linking Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia, which will link to the now-under-construction Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway, is on track to be completed and ready for use by December 2027.

The project, entitled the Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway, upon completion, will be the shortest route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Cambodia, transiting via the Bavet-Moc Bai International Bordergate.

The ongoing Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project, once completed, will synchronize with the new Vietnamese expressway, effectively linking Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City and streamlining trade and travel between the two major metropolises.

The Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway project was approved by the Vietnamese Prime Minister in early August 2024, with a total capital investment of more than 19,600 billion Vietnamese Dong.

Vietnamese state capital accounts for 49 percent of the total investment, the remaining share representing capital mobilized by investors.

The project is being implemented under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, in which the firms implementing the project will recover the capital in 14 years and 10 months, and then transfer the project to the competent authority.

The expressway is around 50 kilometres in total length. In its initial phase, it will be built with four lanes, followed by an increase to six lanes in its second phase, amounting to a total roadbed width of 25.5 meters.

According to Luong Minh Phuc, Director of the Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Works in Ho Chi Minh City, “The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Transport to focus on implementing the project preparation, approval, investor survey and site clearance compensation for the project from now until the end of the year.”

He said, “This will set up a favourable condition to strive for in the second quarter of 2025. We can start construction of the project and complete the project before December 31, 2027, synchronizing the Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway on the Cambodian side.”

Authorities in Vietnam have commended the project as a key contributor to increasing the capacity of the international intermodal route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Cambodia and reducing the load on the current route, Highway 22, which faces ongoing issues of traffic congestion and overloading.

Meanwhile, on the Cambodian side of the route, the construction on the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway officially commenced on June 7, 2023.

The project is expected to be completed in approximately four years.

Backed by a $1.3 billion investment by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, the four-lane, 135.1 kilometer expressway project is also being developed in the form of BOT model, with an operational period of 50 years granted to the Chinese partner.

The project is part of the Chinese state-sponsored Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and represents a key logistics development for regional connectivity between Cambodia and Vietnam; as well as regional links onwards to Thailand, Myanmar and mainland China.

During the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project’s groundbreaking ceremony in June 2023, former Prime Minister Hun Sen said, “This expressway will give a boost to the growth of investment, trade, tourism and cross-border transportation between Cambodia and Vietnam.”

He said the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway will also be a prime driver of economic growth for Cambodia broadly, adding that travelling on expressways saves both time and money.

Reductions of logistics cost have remained a key policy focus of the new government under Prime Minister Hun Manet, improving transit systems seen as a key to encouraging more manufacturing investments into the country through increased operational efficiencies.

Upon completion, the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway will be the Kingdom’s second major expressway in operation, following in the footsteps of the highly successful Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, which has been open for travel since October 2022.

The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway was also developed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation.