Nearly 44.7 kilometres of National Road 217 in the north central province of Thanh Hoa will be upgraded as part of a recently approved project to improve local livelihoods.

The second northern Greater Mekong Sub-region transport network improvement project, approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, will also include the construction of a 310-metre railway flyover and 2.3 kilometres of its access roads on National Road 217.

The project, implemented through 2018, has a total investment of nearly 78.36 million USD with almost 71.29 million USD loaned by the Asian Development Bank through official development assistance. The rest will be covered by Vietnam’s State budget.

It is meant to enable faster travel speeds, reduce traffic congestion and accidents, cut transport expenses and improve road maintenance activities, ultimately facilitating community access to social services and job opportunities and alleviating poverty.

National Road 217, which has a total length of 195.4 kilometres, begins at Do Len Bridge in Ha Trung district and ends at the Na Meo International Border Gates in the Quan Son district of Thanh Hoa.

The upgrades to and expansion of the road are part of the Greater Mekong Sub-region transport network improvement project which will connect Vietnam with northern Laos and Thailand, according to the Ministry of Transport’s website.-VNA