Known as a symbolic pass, Khau Coc Cha Pass is located on National Highway 4A connecting Xuan Truong Commune to the center of Bao Lac Border District, with a length of up to 2.5km, with 15 floors being consecutive, challenging curves.
According to local people, Khau Coc Cha was originally a trail less than half a meter wide, dating back to the French colonial period. At that time, this was a path for groups of horses carrying goods, many sections of the road were so narrow that there was not enough space for two people going in opposite directions.
In 2011, the new pass was expanded with a 5m wide road surface, creating an official pass route to connect remote villages of the northern "fence" land. After a long time of use, this pass has degraded, posing a potential risk of traffic accidents.
The project to handle unsafe locations through Khau Coc Cha Pass (Bao Lac District) has been underway since June 2023 with a total investment of 39 billion VND. The funding source is allocated by the Ministry of Transport, the Department of Transport (now the Department of Construction) of Cao Bang province is the investor.
In this renovation, the items implemented include: expanding the view, asphalt concrete pavement of the entire road surface, adding a traffic safety system, reinforcing sidewalks and adding vertical ditches, to ensure exploitation, maintaining the life of the roadbed and road surface, as well as improving traffic safety for the pass.
After many delays at the end of 2024, the repair of this pass has just been completed. However, on some slopes, the road surface quality is quite poor, the asphalt layer is peeling, and some points even have holes and are lost.
On March 21, actual observations by the reporter showed that the asphalt road surface at some levels of the pass was damaged, the asphalt road was lumpy and convex, and the asphalt was exposed to the rock layer.
Regarding the problem of the damaged road surface after being repaired, a representative of the Department of Construction of Cao Bang province said that they will direct the immediate implementation of inspection and review of the quality of the project.
In 2023, the People's Committee of Bao Lac district has held many meetings to discuss and approve the project of stops and sightseeing spots to effectively exploit the tourism potential of the pass. This construction is part of the Tourism Service Development Program for the period 2021 - 2025, Bao Lac district coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to implement a project under the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, period 2021-2025 with a capital of more than 3 billion VND.
However, up to now, while the sightseeing spot project is under construction, the rest stop project has not yet been invested in.
"Due to lack of capital, the stop project cannot be invested in construction immediately" - a representative of Bao Lac District People's Committee informed.
Ms. Vu Thi Linh Trang (a tourist from Ninh Binh) - shared: "My group of friends and I traveled by motorbike from Hanoi to here, Khau Coc Cha Pass has long been famous, unfortunately this stop has not been properly invested in so that tourists can use more services".
According to the reporter's records, the planned location for the stop is currently a small grocery store business household, however, this is only a temporary, spontaneous project, so the scene is still dilapidated and sosy.
