The nation's Roads Directorate is planning a new 78km road to take in My Dinh, Ba Sao and Bai Dinh. It will pass through the northern cities and provinces of Hanoi, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh and Ninh Binh.

Tourists cruise along a river en route to visiting the Huong (Perfume) Pagoda on the outskirts of Hanoi. The Road Directorate has agreed on a plan to build a new 78-km road linking tourist sites such as the Perfume Pagoda and Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh Province to Hanoi.

Nguyen Van Quyen, the Acting Director, said that the four-lane road, with a speed limit of 100kph, was an extremely large project that required complicated techniques and careful calculations.

The most economical approach would cost VND3.4 trillion (US$161.9 million) but this would require taking land from the Van Long nature reserve. The other option would cost VND4.3 trillion ($204.7 million).

The road would help the North-South transport network and link up tourist destinations, such as Bai Dinh and Huong pagodas, to Hanoi.

Located 93km south of Hanoi, Ninh Binh has a diverse landscape, with the Trang An eco-tourism complex boasting mountains, caves and lakes.

Roughly 3.6 million people have visited the province in the first six months of this year. Tam Coc-Bich Dong and the Bai Dinh Pagoda have also created quite an impression.

Ninh Binh aims to welcome 6 million visitors, including 1 million foreigners, by 2015, an annual growth rate of 10 per cent

Huong Pagoda, better known as the Perfumed Pagoda, is said to be Vietnam's most famous pilgrimage site for Buddhist followers.

Every year, the site welcomes more than 1 million pilgrims and tourists from across the country, who arrive at the sacred cave to pray for a happy and prosperous year, or simply to admire its picturesque beauty.