Quang Tri proposes to develop $335 million Cam Lo-Lao Bao Expressway

Quang Tri is has proposed adding Cam Lo-ao Bao Expressway to the national highway planning during 2021-2025

The province seeks the prime minister’s approval to add Cam Lo-Lao Bao Expressway to the planning on highway construction for the 2021-2025 period with a vision to 2030.

It is expected that the expressway will have a length of 70km, a 4-lane highway standard, a 17m-wide roadbed, invested under the public-private partnership (PPP) method. The total investment capital is estimated at VND7.7 trillion($334.8 million), with the central budget contributing 28.31 per cent with a payback period of 19 years.

Quang Tri is located at the beginning of the East-West Economic Corridor connecting Vietnam with Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. At present, National Highway No.9 is considered one of the important bridges linking Cam Lo with Lao Bao International Border Gate.

The problem is that vehicle traffic on Highway No.9 is increasing, including container trucks transporting goods to Laos and vice versa, causing overload, traffic jams, road hazards and endanger commercial activities. This necessitates the development of Cam Lo-Lao Bao Expressway.

Completing roadway infrastructure is a key target in highway planning in 2021-2025 with a vision to 2030.

Notably, by 2030, the country will focus on developing expressways, including the Eastern Cluster of the North-South Expressway, expressways connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and expressways in the Northwest Region, the Central Highlands, and the Mekong Delta Region.

Until 2025, priority expressway projects connect to the North-South Expressway (VND243.8 trillion or $10.6 billion), Halong-Mong Cai (VND12.66 trillion or $550.43 million), Lang Son-Cao Bang (VND10.5 trillion or $456.5 million), Dau Giay-Lien Khuong (VND6.18 trillion or $268.7 million), and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau (VND14.9 trillion or $647.83 million).