In mid-March 2025, present at the project connecting the traffic of the northern mountainous provinces with the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway through Van Ban district, Lao Cai province, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters recorded the bustling activities of workers and high-capacity machinery to bring the project to the finish line soon.
Through observation, National Highway 279 from IC16 intersection towards Lai Chau province has completed pouring concrete and asphalting many sections of the road. Here, people and vehicles can move more conveniently.
Regularly traveling between Lao Cai - Lai Chau provinces via National Highway 279, Ms. Tran Thi Hang (residing in Khanh Yen town, Van Ban district) shared: "This National Highway 279 has a fairly high number of vehicles, especially heavy trucks.
In recent years, the road has also been degraded, damaged, muddy in the rainy season, dusty in the dry season, posing a potential risk to traffic safety. Therefore, the upgrade is extremely necessary to meet the travel needs of the people".
Similarly, Mr. Bui Van Tu (residing in Hoa Mac commune, Van Ban district) said: "Many sections of the road have been paved with asphalt by the contractor, so our travel has been much more convenient. We look forward to the route being completed and handed over for use soon.
It is known that the project connecting the northern mountainous provinces with the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway is funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Australian Government.
The project consists of 2 connecting routes, of which route 1 is 147 km long, connecting Lai Chau with the Hanoi - Lao Cai expressway; starting point at IC16 intersection, ending point at the Lai Chau city hospital intersection.
Route No. 2 is about 53 km long, connecting Nghia Lo town (Yen Bai) with Hanoi - Lao Cai expressway with the starting point at IC14 intersection, the end point intersecting with National Highway 32 (Nghia Lo town).
In Lao Cai, the route mainly runs through Van Ban district with a length of about 60 km, mainly on National Highway 279. Construction started in September 2022, expected to be completed in mid-2025.
The project is invested by the Ministry of Transport, represented by Project Management Board 2 with a total investment of VND 6,018.1 billion.
Of which, compensation, support and resettlement costs are VND 1,019.4 billion; construction costs are VND 4,155.3 billion; construction investment consulting costs are VND 325.8 billion; contingency costs are VND 417 billion...
In Lao Cai, the construction unit of package XL01 (Km00+000-Km18+500) is the Joint Venture of Dat Phuong Group Joint Stock Company, Phuong Thanh Traffic Construction Investment Joint Stock Company and 168.
As for package XL02 (Km18+500-Km40+00), the joint venture of 656 Company and Tu Lap is responsible for the construction, package XL03 (Km40+00-Km63+446) is constructed by the joint venture of 703 Construction Investment Joint Stock Company and Manh Cuong Company Limited.
On March 22, informing the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Vu Khanh - representative of Project Management Board 2 (Ministry of Transport) affirmed: "Both the investor and the contractor are trying to coordinate to resolve difficulties and problems in the implementation of the project.
Regarding the shortcomings in site clearance, Van Ban district is also urging implementation. It is expected that by June 30, 2025, the entire route will be basically completed.
