Expressway project linking China and Thailand through Laos approved

Illustrative image. (Photo:eastasiaforum.org)

Vientiane (VNA) – The Lao government has approved a project to build an expressway running between Bokeo province and Boten town in Luang Namtha province, which will link China and Thailand through Laos.

The 176.3 km expressway is expected to cost 3.8 billion USD.

The expressway will allow vehicles to travel at up to 80km per hour and cut travel time to just one hour and a half, the Vientiane Times reported.

In addition, surveys of the next three sections of the Laos-China Expressway, which is being built between Vientiane and Boten at the Chinese border in Luang Namtha province, have been completed.

The 440 km expressway comprises four sections. The first section between Vientiane and Vangvieng district in Vientiane province has been built and has put into operation since the beginning of this year.

Surveys of sections 2, 3 and 4 have been completed and the cost for all the three sections is estimated at 6 billion USD.

In the south, the government has given the green light to the construction of the Vientiane-Pakxe Expressway after feasibility studies on all sections have done.

This expressway will comprise of five sections and run parallel to Road No 13 South. The first section is 126 km long connecting Vientiane and Pakxan district in Borikhamxay province.

The expressway will link up with the planned Vientiane-Hanoi expressway, creating a direct connection between the Lao and Vietnamese capitals.

Once they are completed, these expressways will greatly reduce transportation time and costs, facilitating the transport of goods between Laos and regional countries./.