LookAtVietnam - Northwestern Vietnam and northeastern Laos just got a lot closer. It is the result of a road connecting Muong Khua district in Laos’ Phongsaly province and Vietnam’s Dien Bien province’s Tay Trang border gate.
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The road will act as a conduit to increased trade flows. |
The Vietnamese government recently granted a $43 million, 15-year loan at 1.5 per cent to the Laotian government to upgrade the 69 kilometre Road 2E.
The long-awaited road will replace the existing Road 2E which has been in disrepair, deterring travel and trade between the two regions.
The asphalt surfaced carriageway will be built within 36-42 months and 100-metre long bridges will dot the journey. A source in Vientiane told VIR that the road had been planned for a decade and was pointed towards opening up northeastern Laos economically, socially and culturally to the outside world.
The source said the land-locked nation was having a hard time boosting economic development and regarded ago-forestry exports, mining and mineral exploitation and tourism as key drivers for the region.
“While Vietnam has to import wood materials and find ways to promote its tourism and Vietnamese investors are eyeing northern Laos’ minerals and hydro-electricity potentials, this road will be able to help them to realise their dreams,” the source said.
Laos will be able to export timber directly through the strip which was hampered by the shoddy condition of Road 2E. The Vientiane Times cited Lao Standing Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad as saying the new Road 2E would play a crucial role in eradicating poverty amongst Laos’ ethnic groups, especially in Phongsaly province.
Phongsaly governor Khamsan Souvong echoed that sentiment, saying the road would be an important driving force behind the province’s socio-economic development and would help the Laotian government remarkably in its hunger alleviation and poverty reduction strategies.
The Laotian government put Phongsaly into one of its socio-economic development plan priorities between 2006 and 2010. “The road will be a significant contributing factor towards these goals,” said Laotian Minister of Public Works and Transport Sommath Pholsena. He said the road would not only help facilitate trade and transport between Phongsaly province and Vietnam’s northern provinces, but would also function as an important road within ASEAN.
Vietnam’s Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung said a series of Laos roads have already been built by Vietnamese engineering teams. “When completed, the project will facilitate the transport of goods and travel and boost tourism development, trade and investment between northern Laos and Vietnam. It will also link northern Vietnam and Thailand,” Dung said.
VietNamNet/VIR
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