The key economic zone, comprising Cần Thơ City and An Giang, Kiên Giang, and Cà Mau provinces, is expected to transport 450-500 million passengers a year and 100-110 million tons of goods by 2020.
 

The plan, drafted by the Ministry of Transport, was recently approved by PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng.

It also targets linking every commune with roads that good enough for automobiles, and island communes with bridges or ferries by 2015.

By then, all district-level and 70% of commune-level roads will be paved, and all foot-bridges will be eliminated.

Several expressways and new provincial roads will be built, and existing national highways will be upgraded by 2020.

Those to be built include the 32.3km Mỹ Thuận– Cần Thơ expressway, 150km Cần Thơ– Cà Mau expressway, 200km Châu Đốc – Cần Thơ– Sóc Trăng Province expressway, and 225km Hà Tiên – Rạch Giá – Bạc Liêu Province expressway.

The plan will explore the feasibility of building the HCM City – Mỹ Tho – Cần Thơ rail link.

It also seeks to develop ports and river routes leading up to them, with priority to be given to major ports in Cần Thơ and Phú Quốc to meet the region's transport needs.

The ports will handle around 58.5 million tons of goods a year by 2020.

The Cần Thơ International airport, Cà Mau airport, and Rạch Giá airport will be upgraded, and construction of the Phú Quốc International airport will be completed.

By 2020 the region's airports will handle around 11.8 million passengers a year.

The plan seeks to develop five major transport corridors: HCM City – Cần Thơ – Cà Mau; HCM City – Long Xuyên city in An Giang – Rạch Giá city in Kiên Giang; HCM City – Hà Tiên city also in Kiên Giang; Cần Thơ – Long Xuyên– Châu Đốc town in An Giang; and Hà Tiên– Rạch Giá – Cà Mau.

The total area required for transport infrastructure in the zone by 2020 is estimated at 696.64sq.km, or slightly more than now./.