Tunnel cuts travel time through Deo Ca Pass to ten minutes

The 4.1 kilometre long Deo Ca Tunnel is part of a 13-kilometre long road project, which also includes another tunnel, Co Ma, which is 500 metres in length and opened to traffic in 2015.

The tunnel consists of two tubes, each featuring two lanes and allows for a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

The toll for using the tunnel will be free until the end of September 2 and range from VND60,000 (US$2.64) to VND288,000 (US$12.67), depending on the type of vehicle, following the free period.

Only automobiles are allowed through the Deo Ca Tunnel and the operator, Deo Ca Investment JSC, is considering offering a service in which trucks will be used to transport motorbikes through the tunnel.

The company stated that the tunnel was originally planned to be 5.7 kilometres long and cost VND15.6 trillion (US$686.4) but it has been rerouted to be 4.1 kilometre long at a reduced cost of VND11.3 trillion (US$497.2 million).

Deputy Transport Minister Le Dinh Tho said that the tunnel will reduce the distance between Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces by 9 kilometres and travel time by 50 minutes, compared with travelling on the Deo Ca Pass, which is dangerous during the rainy and typhoon season.

The Deo Ca Tunnel is the second longest mountain road tunnel in Vietnam, after the Hai Van Tunnel, which is 6.28 kilometres long between Thua Thien Hue province and Da Nang.

(Source:  NDO)