Havana, May 20 (RHC) – Cuban state company Quality Couriers International (QCI) and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Unit signed an agreement for the Cubans to supervise construction of another segment of a major north-south highway in Vietnam.

QCI agreed to supervise construction of an 87-kilometer (55 mile) stretch of the Ho Chi Minh Highway, a 3,176-kilometer (1,973-mile) road that roughly follows the trajectory of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a crucial supply line for the Vietcong rebels in the South during the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s. The QCI segment, from the central city of Da Nang to the limit of the Hue province, includes 65 bridges and a 1,280-meter (0.8 mile) tunnel, according to Prensa Latina.

This is the second stage of the highway’s construction, which began in 2000. In 2005, QCI agreed to supervise construction of a 62-kilometer (38.5 mile) stretch in Stage One.

The highway is built in rough terrain and requires hundreds of bridges and tunnels. The agreement was signed in Hanoi by Ángel Orozco, deputy director of consulting and supervision.

The date coincided with the birthday of Vietnamese hero Ho Chi Minh and the day Cuban national hero José Martí fell in battle.