Central Vietnam tunnel remains open to traffic despite financial woes
By Doan Loan February 21, 2021 | 09:08 pm GMT+7
The Hai Van Tunnel 2 in operation. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Duy.
The Hai Van Tunnel 2 will remain open to traffic despite an investor announcing its closure because it had become financially unviable.
Ngo Truong Nam, General Director of Deo Ca Group, the private side of the public-private-partnership (PPP) that built the tunnel, said Sunday morning that the company was continuing to operate the Hai Van Tunnel 2 to help reduce traffic congestion and boost public convenience.
Vehicles can pass both Hai Van Tunnel 1 and 2 in two directions as they move between Thua Thien-Hue Province and Da Nang, paying unchanged fees at the Bac Hai Van toll booth.
Southeast Asia s longest road tunnel to close within days of opening
By Doan Loan January 14, 2021 | 08:00 pm GMT+7
A view of the Hai Van Tunnel 2 connecting Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue when it opened on January 11, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong.
The Hai Van Tunnel 2 will close after briefly opening during Tet since the government has not invested its share of the cost, the private partner in the project said.
Following its opening on Monday, the tunnel connecting Thua Thien-Hue Province and Da Nang City will allow traffic for 20 days from February 1 before putting up the shutters.
Deo Ca Group JSC of HCMC, the private partner in the public - private partnership that built the tunnel, said it costs VND100 billion ($4.33 million) a year to operate the tunnel, but it faces financial issues since it has not received the government’s share of the VND8.52 trillion ($367 million) cost of construction.