On the morning of October 13, the delegation of Bolykhamxay province led by Mr. Bun Xenh Pa Tham Ma Vong - Member of Provincial Standing Party Committee, Deputy Governor of the Provincial Government Committee had a meeting with the leaders of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee (PPC) on the contents related to the construction project of the Hanoi - Vientiane highway through the Thanh Thuy - Nam On border gate.

Receiving and working with the delegation were Mr. Le Hong Vinh - Member of Provincial Standing Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of PPC; leaders of departments, committees and branches.

Overview of the meeting

Mr. Bun Xenh Pa Tham Ma Vong - Deputy Governor of Bolykhamxay provincial Government Committee speaks at the meeting

At the meeting, Mr. Bun Xenh Pa Tham Ma Vong - Deputy Governor of Bolykhamxay Provincial Government Committee and Mr. Le Hong Vinh – Permanent Vice Chairman of PPC affirmed the good traditional cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Laos in general, Nghe An and Bolykhamxay in particular. The two provincial leaders also informed about the socio-economic situation of the two provinces recently.

Mr. Nguyen Duc An – Deputy Director of Department of Transport reports project progress

The Hanoi - Vientiane Expressway Project has been signed by the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Laos, with a priority investment process before 2030. This is an important route connecting trade, security and defense between Vietnam and Laos, creating convenient traffic connections, especially with the North Central seaport system of Vietnam, contributing to promoting socio-economic development, tourism services, exchanging goods and improving people's living standards in the region.

The project was agreed by the Governments of the two countries to prepare a pre-feasibility study report in the Agreement on Bilateral Cooperation between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Lao PDR in 2015 and the Agreement on transport connection between Vietnam and Laos between the two Governments.

The alignment plan of Vientiane - Pac Xan - Vieng Thong - Nam On - Thanh Thuy - Hanoi has been studied and proposed by TEDI Consultants and has been approved by the Government of Vietnam in Document No. 976/VPCP-QHQT dated February 06, 2016 and approved by the Lao Government in Document No. 1592/HSNNH.KSS dated October 19, 2016. The alignment of Hanoi - Vientiane Expressway has been agreed by the Governments of Vietnam and Laos to pass through Thanh Thuy border gate in the Agreement on investment in construction of highway Hanoi - Vientiane between the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Laos signed on November 24, 2016 in Laos.

Based on JICA's research results and detailed data, TEDI Consultants reviewed, studied and proposed local adjustment of 02 sections on the original proposed route. After adjustment, the total length of alignment is 688 km, of which the new construction is about 406 km, including 345 km in Laos and 61 km in Vietnam from Thanh Thuy border gate to Vinh city and merging with North-South Expressway to the East which is being deployed about 282 km. The alignment has a scale of 06 lanes, estimated total investment of about 6.1 billion USD.

The alignment plan has the advantage of being short in length, connecting difficult areas of Bolykhamxay province, Laos and passing through the planned Thanh Thuy border gate area, in accordance with the Guidelines, Agreements signed by the two countries. The section in Vietnam's territory runs parallel to National Highway 46 in accordance with Vietnam's road network plans.

Mr. Le Hong Vinh – Permanent Vice Chairman of Nghe An PPC speaks

At the meeting, the delegates discussed the proposed location of the highway intersection on the border of the two countries at Nam On border gate (Bolykhamxay province) - Thanh Thuy (Nghe An province).

After listening to the discussions, the leaders of two provinces agreed to assign relevant departments and branches to coordinate with the consulting unit to study the connection point of the expressway connecting Hanoi - Vientiane passing through Thanh Thuy border gate (Nghe An province, Socialist Republic of Vietnam)/Nam On (Bolykhamxay province, Lao PDR), and report back to the leaders of the two provinces to agree on the connection point and submit the plan to the two countries’ Governments.

In addition, the two sides agreed to continue to coordinate exchanges and cooperation, bringing the political relationship further into depth; improve the efficiency of economic cooperation, trade, investment, agricultural development, new-style rural construction; focus on cooperation in the fields of culture, education, human resource training, health care, science and technology to complement each other's advantages, and work towards the common goal of the two provinces.

PT