In May 2026, Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee just sent a document to the Provincial People's Council proposing to unify the competent authority, capital sources and component project division plan for the Nha Trang - Da Lat expressway project to be implemented in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), BOT contract.
Currently, National Highway 27C is the only road connecting Nha Trang with Da Lat.
This road passes through Khanh Le Pass, about 30km long - considered the longest pass in Vietnam - with winding and dangerous terrain, often experiencing landslides in the rainy and storm season and posing a risk of serious traffic accidents.
The expressway project after completion is expected to shorten travel time between Nha Trang and Da Lat to about 1.5 - 2 hours, instead of 3.5 - 4 hours as at present.
According to the proposed dossier, the Nha Trang - Lien Khuong expressway has a total length of about 99km, starting point intersecting with the North - South expressway in the East at Dien Tho commune, Khanh Hoa province and ending point at the foot of Prenn pass, Lam Dong province.
In which, the Nha Trang - Da Lat section, about 80.8km long, is proposed to be prioritized for investment before 2030.
The road is designed with a scale of 4 lanes, roadbed width from 22 - 24.75m, design speed from 80 - 100km/h.
The project passes through the territory of Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces, with a total land use area of about 627ha.
Of which, there are about 490ha of forest land, including special-use forests, protection forests and production forests.
Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee said that in the next steps, it will continue to study technical solutions such as viaducts, tunnels, large span bridges and reinforced walls to minimize the area affecting the forest, especially the area through Bidoup - Nui Ba National Park.
The preliminary total investment of the project is about 25,058 billion VND. Of which, site clearance costs are about 1,171 billion VND; construction and equipment costs are about 18,889 billion VND; the rest are consulting, project management, loan interest and contingency costs.
According to the expected plan, the capital participating investors is about 8,772 billion VND, accounting for 35% of the total investment. The state capital participating is about 16,286 billion VND, accounting for 65%.
In which, the Khanh Hoa provincial budget is expected to allocate 1,500 billion VND; the Lam Dong provincial budget participates with 768 billion VND; the remaining part of about 14,018 billion VND is proposed from the central budget in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026 - 2030.
To facilitate the implementation process, the project is proposed to be divided into 3 component projects including: Project to build a highway in PPP form; project to compensate and clear ground for the section through Khanh Hoa; and project to compensate and clear ground for the section through Lam Dong.
Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee also proposed that the Provincial People's Council agree to assign Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee as the competent authority to implement the Nha Trang - Da Lat expressway project in PPP form.
