Quang Tri takes advantage of East-West Economic Corridor to boost economic cooperation

Dong Ha City in the central province of Quang Tri strives to become a dynamic urban area in the East-West Economic Corridor.(Photo: VNA)

Quang Tri (VNA) – The East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) is expected to help the central province of Quang Tri to boost economic development at border areas and become a logistics hub in Vietnam’s central region.

The EWEC, established in October 1998, passes through 13 provinces and cities of four countries including Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, and is one of five economic corridors in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). In Vietnam, the EWEC runs through three localities of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang.

The National Highway 9 in Quang Tri province is the first part of the EWEC in Vietnam.  The National Highway 9 and the National Highway 15D are expected to better link My Thuy seaport to La Lay and Lao Bao International Border Gates.

Lao Bao International Border Gate is part of EWEC. (Photo: VNA)

Since 1998, Quang Tri province has actively participated in the GMS and the EWEC development cooperation programmes. As part of the corridor, Lao Bao International Border Gate last year saw import and export turnover of over 542 million USD, over 181,830 vehicles traversing, and more than 438,400 passengers entering or leaving Vietnam.

Lao Bao Special Economic and Commercial Zone, established in 1998 with a total area of more than 5,800ha, attracted 71 projects as of March 2023.

The EWEC also connects directly with Quang Tri Southeast Economic Zone, Nam Dong Ha Industrial Park, Quan Ngang Industrial Park, and coastal tourist service areas in Quang Tri.

The corridor has received investment to improve transport and trade connection, thus, an urban chain along this corridor and surrounding areas has been formed including Lao Bao and Khe Sanh (Huong Hoa district), Krong Klang (Dakrong district), Cam Lo (Cam Lo district), Cua Viet (Gio Linh district) and Dong Ha city.

In particular, Quang Tri province and Laos’ Savannakhet province are developing the Lao Bao-Densavan joint cross-border economic and trade zone project. The zone is located in the area of the Lao Bao-Densavan international border gates, including Vietnam’s Lao Bao Special Economic Zone and Laos’ Densavan Border Trade Area.

Also on the EWEC, logistics infrastructure has been invested, including the Cua Viet seaport with a clearance capacity of over 1.1 million tonnes per year.

The route has also connected with many arterial roads of Vietnam along the North-South axis such as Ho Chi Minh Road, National Highway 1A, East North-South Expressway, coastal roads, and North-South railway. The works create favourable conditions for Quang Tri to easily access the economic centers of the north-central and south-central coastal regions.

To ease the load on the EWEC route (National Highway 9) and increase regional connectivity, Quang Tri province is implementing the Cam Lo-Lao Bao Expressway project worth 7.7 trillion VND (328 million USD).

The 70-km expressway built under a public-private partnership (PPP) contract runs parallel to National Highway 9, with four lanes and 17 metres in width./.