On the morning of August 12, trucks carrying goods through the main border gate of Chieng Khuong (Son La) began to carry out procedures to go to Laos.
A driver carrying goods through the border gate said that what drivers care about is not only the route but also whether the stages at the border gate are convenient or not.
When the volume of vehicles and goods increases, a border gate with wide infrastructure and scientific organization will make the journey of both people and goods more convenient.
Along with vehicles and people entering and leaving the country, the exchange of goods through border areas raises the requirement to upgrade border gate infrastructure.
This is also the reason why Son La is building a methodical investment plan, aiming to make Chieng Khuong an international border gate, an important trade hub with the northern provinces of Laos.
According to data from Sub-Department of Customs Region X, accumulated from the beginning of the year to the end of July 2026, there were 16,016 vehicles entering and leaving the country in Son La; the total number of people entering and leaving the country was 54,185.
Total number of import and export declarations 1,112 declarations; total import and export turnover 17.52 million USD; budget revenue from import and export activities in Son La province is 41.77 billion VND, an increase of 222% compared to the same period in 2025.
Recently, Chairman of Son La Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Dinh Viet worked with departments, branches, and related units on the progress of detailed planning and investment preparation for Chieng Khuong Main Border Gate.
According to the plan, the border gate area is established on an area of about 19.32ha in Chieng Khuong village, Chieng Khuong commune.
Expected functional areas include Quoc Mon combined with a joint checkpoint; working area of functional forces; import-export parking lot, unloading area; service - commercial area; bonded warehouse; parks, green trees and transportation and technical infrastructure systems.
The first phase of the Chieng Khuong Main Border Gate infrastructure construction investment project is expected to be implemented in the period 2026-2028, with a total investment of about 135 billion VND from the central budget.
Some prioritized items include a 2-story bonded warehouse, 2 quarantine houses, working houses, transportation systems, ground leveling and technical infrastructure.
Along with investment preparation, site clearance is also being carried out. Units have coordinated to extract measurements, assign owners and develop compensation plans to be ready for implementation when the project is decided on investment policy.
The planning dossier is currently being completed, expected to be approved before August 31, 2026.
According to provincial leaders, before investing, it is necessary to specifically forecast the flow of people, vehicles and goods through the border gate.
From there, determine the scale of parking lots, warehouses, service areas and related works, avoiding the situation of just being built but already lacking area or having to adjust.
The plan is also required to calculate the location of the commercial - service area in a favorable direction, capable of attracting investment from businesses. Technical infrastructure serving the smart border gate model is also set out in the planning process.
The ultimate goal is to make Chieng Khuong an international border gate, with large trade activities with Laos in the Northwest region.
If invested synchronously, Chieng Khuong not only serves entry and exit activities, import and export, but can also lead to the development of transportation, warehousing, logistics, trade and services in border areas.
For Son La, this is considered one of the directions to expand the economic space to the West, while increasing trade connections with localities of Laos.
