Viet Nam - Mekong Resilient Regional Connectivity for Three National Highways (NH53, 62, and 91B) Project

Overview & Synopsis

Mekong Resilient Regional Connectivity for Three National Highways (NH53, 62, and 91B) Project for Viet Nam has the development objectives of enhancing connectivity, traffic safety, and climate resilience of three national highways connecting Tay Ninh Province, Vinh Long Province, Ca Mau Province, and Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta Region. Component 1: Climate Resilient Highway Improvement and Rehabilitation will upgrade and rehabilitate 251 kilometers across NH53, NH62, and NH91B to Road Class III standards with a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour, widening carriageways with sealed shoulders, strengthening pavements, improving vertical and horizontal alignments where needed, and delivering road safety features designed to achieve an International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) three star rating or higher, alongside School Zone Safety (SZS) measures for vulnerable users; climate resilience interventions include raising road elevations, expanding drainage capacity, adding culverts, reinforcing bridge structures and foundations, treating soft soils, deploying rut and water‑resistant pavement materials, strengthening slopes near waterways, piloting Ultra High‑Performance Concrete for climate‑vulnerable bridges, and planting trees, while constructing 26 new bridges and upgrading 43 existing bridges, and integrating two bypasses to add network redundancy and reduce congestion and emissions. Sub-component 1.1: NH53 will improve 41 kilometers in Vinh Long Province from Nga Tu bridge to Long Ho–Ba Si, including a short section to replace an old bridge and a 17.3 kilometer greenfield bypass between chainages Km23+460 and Km46+466 to avoid densely populated areas, shorten the route, and embed elevated, well‑drained profiles. Sub-component 1.2: NH62 will improve 69 kilometers in Tay Ninh Province from near the Ho Chi Minh City–Trung Luong expressway to the Binh Hiep international border gate, including an 8.0 kilometer greenfield bypass between chainages Km41+100 and Km48+700 to reduce resettlement in built‑up zones, lower travel time and emissions, and incorporate elevated sections and enlarged drainage; two road‑over‑bridges will connect the bypass at its ends. Sub-component 1.3: NH91B will rehabilitate 141 kilometers from Can Tho City to Bac Lieu City on the existing alignment, focusing on pavement strengthening, bridge widening or reinforcement, drainage upgrades, slope stabilization, and safety treatments without new greenfield works. Component 2: Overall Project Management and Implementation Support will provide consultancy and implementation support not covered under Component 1, including preparation and quality assurance of designs and bidding documents, contract management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, independent financial audits, and environmental and social risk management and monitoring, and will support capacity building for the Department for Roads of Viet Nam (DRVN) and project management units, including targeted training with a focus on female staff and the institutionalization of gender‑responsive human resource practices.