The 654km Eastern North-South Expressway will be opened to bids in August 2019, reports market intelligence group InfraPPP.
The government plans to split the scheme into 11 sub-projects, of which three will be state-funded and eight will be offered on a public–private partnership basis, with the winning consortiums operating the assets for a fixed period after completion.
The government is expecting to invest about $2.4bn in the scheme, said InfraPPP.
Work on clearing sites for the route has started, and road construction is expected to begin in April 2020.
Work will be open to international bidders. So far, interest has been shown by 24 Vietnamese companies, as well as six Chinese, two Japanese, one French and one South Korean.