HANOI, Sept 26: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Vietnam on Friday signed the bank’s biggest single loan project, for a four-lane highway linking Hanoi with southern China.

The 1.1 billion dollar deal will help build a 244-kilometre (151 mile) highway to cut travel time between Hanoi and Lao Cai province from 8 to 3 hours, said Vietnam State Bank Governor, Nguyen Van Giau, at a signing ceremony.

The highway, to be completed in 2012, will bring about opportunities and promote trade relations and cargo transport between provinces in northern Vietnam and China’s Yunnan province, Giau said.

The highway will give a shorter and lower cost route to major ports and inland markets, have great potential for tourism and also substantially enhance Vietnam’s ability to export agricultural and maritime products to Yunnan province as well as to improve international competitiveness,” said ADB country director for Vietnam, Ayumi Konishi.

According to the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam will need up to 25 billion dollars to develop 2,600 kilometres (1,600 miles) of highway between now and 2020.---AFP