$950M expressway proposed to cut Vietnam's Nha Trang-Da Lat drive to 2 hours

Khanh Hoa Province has asked the government to approve a VND25.05 trillion (US$952 million) expressway linking the resort cities of Nha Trang and Da Lat, to be built under a public-private partnership.

The two cities rank among Vietnam's best-known holiday destinations, Nha Trang for its beaches on the south-central coast and Da Lat for its cool, pine-covered highlands.

They are linked today only by National Highway 27C, a winding mountain road that takes 3.5 hours and is prone to severe landslides during the rainy season.

The provincial government, which administers Nha Trang, says the new route would shorten the journey to about 1.5 to 2 hours and give the corridor a safer, higher-standard connection.

Under the regional master plan, the full Nha Trang-Lien Khuong expressway would run about 99 kilometers in two segments: the 80.8-kilometer Nha Trang-Da Lat stretch and the 18.2-kilometer Da Lat-Lien Khuong stretch.

Khanh Hoa has proposed prioritizing the Nha Trang-Da Lat segment for construction before 2030. It would begin at an interchange with the eastern North-South Expressway in Dien Tho Commune, Khanh Hoa, and end at the Darahoa interchange, where it would link National Highway 27C and Huynh Tan Phat Street in Lam Vien Ward, Da Lat, of Lam Dong Province.

A rendering of the Nha Trang-Da Lat expressway. Image courtesy of Lam Dong People's Committee

Planned to be built to a full four-lane standard with a roadbed 22 to 24 meters wide and a design speed of 80 to 100 kph, the route crosses rugged mountainous terrain that would require about 13 kilometers of bridges and road tunnels totaling roughly 3 kilometers.

The preliminary total investment of about VND25.05 trillion breaks down into nearly VND18.9 trillion for construction and equipment and more than VND1.17 trillion for site clearance, with the rest covering project management, consulting, loan interest and contingency reserves.

If the investment policy is approved, construction would run from 2026 to 2028.

In the proposal, signed by provincial People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Viet Hung, Khanh Hoa asked to develop the project under the public-private partnership model using a build-operate-transfer contract. The province also requested to be designated the competent authority for the project and to split it into component sub-projects to handle compensation, support and resettlement across Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces, along with funding support from the central budget.

Private investors would contribute about VND8.77 trillion ($333 million), or 35% of the total, while the state would provide about VND16.28 trillion ($619 million), or 65%.

Within the state share, Khanh Hoa expects to allocate VND1.5 trillion and Lam Dong over VND760 billion, with the remaining VND14.01 trillion ($532 million) requested from the central budget under the public investment plan for 2026-2030.

The Khanh Hoa government argued that the high state contribution is necessary because the mountainous terrain demands numerous bridges and tunnels, driving up costs while traffic volumes in the early years are expected to remain low.

Under the preliminary financial plan, the starting toll would be VND2,100 per kilometer for a standard vehicle, and the project would take about 24 years and three months to recoup its investment.

Beyond the tourism link, the expressway is regarded as a strategic project that would form an east-west corridor between the Central Highlands and the south-central coast, connecting economic and tourism hubs to the seaport system, particularly the Van Phong Economic Zone.