SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

11 - Trade and transport• The Mekong Transport and Flood Protection Project in Viet Nam, involves, among otherthings, the upgrade of 180 km of Highway 1 between Can Tho and Ca Mau and another 182km of national and provincial roads throughout the Mekong Delta. The estimated cost ofthis project is $144 million, and it is being implemented over the period December 2000-June 2006. Significantly, the upgrading of Highway 1 will include strengthening of highwaybridges to accept 30 tonne gross vehicle weights, which will be necessary to permit thepassage of container-carrying semi-trailer vehicles.• Two projects in Lao PDR , the Third Highway Improvement Project and the ProvincialInfrastructure Project, aimed respectively at reconstruction of 230 km of Highway 13between Savannakhet and Pakse, and the provision of year-round road access to villages inthe remote northern provinces of Oudomxay and Phongsaly. These projects are beingimplemented by December 2003 and November 2006, respectively, at costs estimated,respectively, at $69 million and $28 million.• A Road Rehabilitation Project in Cambodia, involving upgrading of 89.3 km of NationalRoad 6 and of 21.5 km of National Road 3, as well as rehabilitation of urban streets inPhnom Penh and Sihanoukville and institutional strengthening and capacity building. Thisproject is being implemented over a five-year period, between 1999 and 2004, at an estimatedcost at $48 million.The World Bank’s Viet Nam Inland Waterway and Port Improvement Project can be expected toresult in substantial improvements to navigation in the Mekong Delta.The two major canal routes, Ho Chi Minh City to Kien Luong and Ho Chi Minh City to Ca Mau arebeing dredged to a minimum three metre depth, allowing the operation of 500 DWT barges (upfrom 200 DWT currently).The ports of Can Tho and Ca Mau are being provided with modern, high capacity cargo handlingequipment, including that for handling containers.The Bassac Estuary is subject to a high rate ofsiltation and a tidal variation of 2.5-3 metres.At low water depth (3.6 metres), vessels of only3,000 DWT can pass through the estuary, butthe extra 3 metres of the high tide allowsvessels of 6,000 -7,000 DWT to enter.However, the government of Viet Nam iscommitted to improving access to the port ofCan Tho and wants to allow vessels of between10,000 and 20,000 DWT to enter the BassacRiver. This is likely to involve the constructionof a channel to by-pass the estuary, whichcannot provide stable conditions fornavigation. Subject to its satisfactory financialand economic justification, there is a strongpossibility that the World Bank will take a leadingIf institutional impediments are removed, Phnom PenhPort could capture a large share of cargo bound toeastern Asiarole in the development of this project. Significantly, one of the major benefits of the project will be toallow sea-going vessels to proceed as far as Phnom Penh using the Bassac River (and the Vam NaoCanal to the Mekong River). This, coupled with other measures, will result in the removal of all physicaland non-physical obstructions on this transit route.237