Ministry proposed to upgrade national highways connecting with Laos, China
The Department of Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) has just proposed a project to the Ministry of Transport to upgrade and renovate national highways connecting Vietnam with northern Laos and China.
National Highway 279 connecting Dien Bien city to Tay Trang International Border Gate between Vietnam and Laos in Dien Bien province will be upgraded. ( Photo: baogiaothong.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Department of Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) has justproposed a project to the Ministry of Transport to upgrade and renovatenational highways connecting Vietnam with northern Laos and China.
Under the proposal, the project will use loans from the World Bank (WB) andwill be implemented in five years from 2025 to 2029.
Accordingly, the section of National Highway 279 at Dien Bien-Tay Trang BorderGate in Dien Bien province with a total length of 38km will be upgraded tolevel 3 with two lanes and 12m wide.
Meanwhile, two sections of National Highway 4H with a length of 94km will beupgraded to a level 4 mountain road and widened to two lanes.
For National Highway 217, a 52km-long section from National Highway 1 to Ho Chi Minh Expressway in Thanh Hoa province will be renovated and upgraded toensure technical standards of a level 3 road of a plains region with two lanesand a width of 12m. In particular, the section from Km8 400 to Km13 255 will bebuilt at a width of 17m and a road surface of 15m to be in sync with the scaleof the central road of the Bong urban area being built.
The completion of National Highway 217 will create conditions to develop goodstrade between Vietnam and Laos through the Na Meo International Border Gate andconnect to the North-South transportation system and seaports in the region.
According to the proposal of the DRVN, total investment is estimated at 9.4trillion VND, equivalent to about 340 million USD, of which, WB loan capitalwill be over 7.5 trillion VND (315 million USD) and used for construction,technical designing and consulting, construction supervision and contingencycosts.
Domestic counterpart capital of about 1.9 trillion VND (81 million USD) will bespent for project management, remaining construction consulting, and othercosts including site clearance, tax and fee payments and contingency costs.
The department said that the investment in the project would contribute toimproving traffic capacity, meeting increasing transport needs, shortening thedistance between border gates and seaports, and reducing driving time throughthe road, which would help reduce transportation costs, environmental pollutionand traffic accidents.
The project would also serve the socio-economic development of the area andstrengthen the East-West corridor connection promoting trade with northern Laosand China./.
The Ministry of Transport has recommended to the ministries of Planning and Investment, and Finance five projects to upgrade the national highways connecting with Laos.
The Ministry of Transport has sent a document to the Ministries of Planning and Investment, and Finance proposing the upgrades to five national highways connecting with Laos.
The Ministry of Transport will coordinate with other ministries to provide advice to the Government and prioritise budget allocation for transforming two-lane roads into fully-fledged four-lane expressways.
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National Highway 279 connecting Dien Bien city to Tay Trang International Border Gate between Vietnam and Laos in Dien Bien province will be upgraded. ( Photo: baogiaothong.vn) 
