HO CHI MINH, Vietnam — CII Bridges and Roads Investments Joint Stock Co. (CII B&R), an affiliate of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), is targeting to start building the $1.5-billion expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City–Trung Luong–My Thuan Expressway by September.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, CII Director of Capital Management Le Trung Hieu said the Vietnamese government has issued a special directive to fast-track the project and directly appoint CII — 45 percent owned by MPTC — as the implementing entity.

“Our biggest priority is Phase 2 of the expressway and that costs around $1.5 billion, which will be disbursed in three years. We do not need much capex this year, just enough to kickstart the project,” Hieu said.

“These types of projects are typically subject to competitive bidding, the government has chosen to accelerate progress and intends to appoint CII directly as the investor,” he added.

The second phase of the project will expand about 96 kilometers of expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City to My Thuan via Trung Luong. It will also involve work north of the My Thuan 2 Bridge in Tien Giang Province.

The expressway is classified as a Group A special-level road transport facility. Project costs include ₫23.5 trillion for construction and equipment, ₫4.4 trillion for land clearance, and ₫4.8 trillion in loan interest during construction.

CII is financing the expansion through 15 percent equity and 85 percent debt, with an average loan interest rate of 10.75 percent per year.

According to Hieu, the project faced delays mainly due to right-of-way (ROW) issues and coordination challenges among district governments.

However, Vietnam’s ongoing administrative reforms—including the planned merger of Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau—are expected to enhance inter-agency coordination.

“The company is constantly talking with the government about the Hanoi Project and is even exploring expansion projects on top of these to help the government finish the ROW problems,” Hieu added.

MPTC, the tollways arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., maintains a stake in CII to strengthen its regional presence, which also includes toll road investments in Indonesia.