Close to the Lunar New Year of 2026, National Highway 279 passing through the old Van Ban district (Lao Cai province) has been basically completed.
The project under the Project to Connect Transportation in Northern Mountainous Provinces is bringing a new face to the regional infrastructure, making local people excited.
Real-world records show that the number of trucks, passenger cars and personal vehicles has circulated quite stably on the route. Both sides of the road are basically clear, no longer experiencing dense construction machinery as before.
Mr. Luong Van Ha (Minh Luong commune) shared that the new road is spacious, the road surface is smooth, significantly shortening the travel time to the old district center.
This Tet, traveling is less difficult, people are very happy. We also hope traffic accidents will occur less often," he said.
Not only convenient for daily life, local people expect that the upgraded National Highway 279 will open up opportunities for trade, tourism and agricultural product consumption in the highlands.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Mai Van Cuong - representative of Project Management Board 2 (Ministry of Construction) - said that by February 15 (ie, December 28), the contractors had basically collected machinery and equipment for workers to take Tet holiday according to plan. After the holiday, the unit will mobilize forces to return to the construction site to complete auxiliary items, ensuring synchronization throughout the route.
According to Project Management Board 2 - the project investor, the road is an important component to strengthen the connection between Lai Chau province and the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway. The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Australian Government, with a total investment of more than 6,018 billion VND.
In terms of scale, the route starts at the IC16 intersection on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway (Van Ban district, Lao Cai province) and ends at Km34+800 National Highway 4D in Lai Chau City, Lai Chau province. The section through old Lao Cai is about 60km long.
The project was implemented from June 2019 and according to the adjusted plan, it will be completed in April 2026.
Also according to the investor, site clearance work in the old Van Ban district has reached about 99%. Over the past time, the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee has directed departments, branches and localities to closely coordinate to hand over the site for construction.
On the section Km0+00D - Km63+446 passing through the old Van Ban district, 3/3 bidding packages are currently being implemented simultaneously. The value of construction and installation output reaches nearly 95% of the volume.
Project Management Board 2 said that National Highway 279 is currently basically open to traffic before the Lunar New Year 2026. After this time, contractors will continue to complete the remaining items, ensuring the quality and aesthetics of the project.
However, there is still a site site problem at Km8+600 related to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan's household (Tuan Len gas station). The adjustment of the fence affects the business activities of the household, so the family has not agreed to hand over.
The investor proposed that the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee continue to direct relevant departments, branches and localities to soon remove obstacles and complete site handover in February 2026 so that the project can be completed synchronously.
The fact that National Highway 279 through Van Ban is basically opened to traffic before Tet not only meets the expectations of the people but also creates motivation to promote socio-economic development in the Northwest region in the coming time.
