New roads to link to northern mountains

Lai Chau (VNA) - Two new roads will be built connecting the northern mountainous region with Hanoi, said the Ministry of Transport.

The two roads are part of the Transport Connection in the Northern Region project invested by the transport ministry, Deputy Director of the ministry's Project Management Unit 2 Le Thang said at a workshop held in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau on January 16.

The first road will be expanded to connect Lai Chau with the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway. The total length of the road will stretch 147km, with 132.8km upgraded and additional 14km built.

The other road will be an entirely new route starting from the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway and running 51km to Lien Son township in Yen Bai province.

Total investment for the road is estimated at more than 235.3 million USD.

The road is still being designed, Thang said. All design work should be completed and construction should start later this year, he added.

Nearly 800sq.m of both public and non-public land across Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces will be taken up by the new roads. According to the ministry, construction will affect 957 households, of which six will have to relocate while 115 will have to relinquish parts or all of their agricultural land.

The Lai Chau People’s Committee Chairman Tran Tien Dung said the project will play a vital role in promoting the socio-economic development of Lai Chau, as well as other provinces in the mountainous region.

“Investment in new roads will shorten travel times, cut transportation costs and increase competitiveness, while expanding trade and helping to eliminate poverty,” he said./.