Quang Tri aims to improve major transport infrastructure

Quang Tri (VNA) - The central province of Quang Tri hopes the completion of new coastal roads by 2025 will help drive socio-economic development.

With a coastal line of 75 km and beautiful beaches, the province has huge potential to develop marine tourism and resorts.

But according to authorities, a lack of good infrastructure is hindering opportunities for ports and the province to grow.

In 2019, 23.5 km of road construction was completed costing 630 billion VND, linking at Cu Viet bridge in Trieu Phong district’s Trieu An commune and Hai Lang district’s Hai Duong commune.

The road has helped create good connections for the southeastern coastal economic zone, but more transport links would go a long way to further development.

Under a resolution approved at the province’s Party Congress, Quang Tri province would build roads along the remaining part of its coastal line including a 44-km long route from Cua Viet bridge to the neighbouring Quang Binh province and another 12-km-long section from the coastal line to Dong Ha city.

The projects are expected to be finished by 2025 and cost 2.97 trillion VND, of which 2.41 trillion VND is from the central budget and the rest from the local budget.

According to the province’s Transport Department, the roads would pave the way for the province to form an axis for coastal urban development, helping expand Dong Ha city to the east and improve connectivity between the province to other localities.

As transport infrastructure is improved, the province expects to attract more investors to marine tourism in local beaches like Cua Tung, Cua Viet, Gio Hai or Vinh Thai.

Also in the next five years, Quang Tri will build a road connecting the western and eastern branches of the Ho Chi Minh National Highway.

Le Duc Tien, vice chairman of the province’s People’s Committee said that once the link road opens, it would offer a choice to access erosion-prone areas along Ho Chi Minh Highway instead of travelling through the neighbouring Quang Binh province.

In case natural disasters happened, rescue forces would be able to reach mountainous communes in Huong Hoa and Vinh Linh provinces including Huong Lao, Huong Viet, Huong Son, Huong Phung and Huong Linh communes.

The Ministry of Transport recommended the Ministry of Investment and Planning arrange funding of 440 billion VND to improve and expand National Highway No9 as about 14 km of the highway from North Cua Viet port to National Highway No1 was degraded.

With an improved road, cargo transportation from the seaport to western mountainous areas and Lao Bao International Border Gate and vice versa is expected to run smoothly. 

The transport ministry also plans to open National Highway 15D in the next five years.

This will link My Thuy deep sea port to La Lay International Border Gate. The seaport is under construction in Hai An commune, Hai Lang district. With the total investment of more than 14 trillion VND and covering an area of 685 ha, the seaport includes ten harbours which could deal with ships with loads of up to 100,000 tonnes.

It will mainly serve the South East Quang Tri coastal economic zone, other local industrial zones and handle goods from Laos, Thailand on the East-West Economic Corridor.

The corridor running 1,450km through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam is an economic development programme initiated to promote development and integration of five Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The concept was agreed in 1998 at the Ministerial Conference of the Greater Mekong Subregion, organised in Manila, Philippines. This corridor became operational on December 12, 2006. In Vietnam, the project starts at Lao Bao International Border Gate in Quang Tri province, running along Highway No9 and 1A to Da Nang city.

Quang Tri province has four neighbouring key zones along the East-West Economic Corridor including the Lao Bảo special trade and economic zone, Dong Ha, the Northeast economic zone, and the Cua Viet-Cua Tung-Con Co tourism and service triangle./.