METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC), through CII Bridges and Roads Investments Joint Stock Co. (CII), is targeting to begin the expansion of the nearly $1.6-billion Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway by September, a company official 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,” CII Director of Capital Management Le Trung Hieu said during a briefing on Tuesday.

The project is set to cover about 96 kilometers of expressway linking Ho Chi Minh City to My Thuan via Trung Luong, according to the company, which cited the toll road as a key infrastructure project aimed at boosting transport connectivity in southern Vietnam.

The project also includes additional works on the northern segment of the My Thuan 2 Bridge in Tien Giang Province.

The majority of the project’s capital expenditure (capex) will be disbursed between 2026 and 2028, Mr. Hieu said, adding that this year’s allocation will fund site preparation and initial works.

“We don’t need a lot of capex this year — just enough to kickstart the project,” he said.

MPTC, the tollway arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), holds a 45% stake in CII, which has been tapped to directly implement the 39.8-trillion Vietnamese dong (VND), or about $1.53-billion, second phase of the expressway, following a special directive from the Vietnamese government to expedite project development.

CII said the expansion project is considered a Group A special-level road transport facility, which includes an estimated VND 23.5 trillion in construction and equipment costs, VND 4.4 trillion for land clearance, and VND 4.8 trillion in loan interest during construction.

CII is funding the project through a capital structure composed of 15% equity and 85% loans, with an average loan interest rate of 10.75% per year.

MPTC’s involvement in CII is part of the company’s ambition to expand its toll road assets overseas.

MPIC is one of three key Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

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