In September 2023, Lao Cai - Sa Pa BOT Investment Joint Stock Company operated the entire route connecting Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa without limiting the time and load after 5 years of construction.
The new route will shorten the journey from the old Lao Cai City to Sa Pa by about 7 km, taking 20 minutes, avoiding many dangerous turns.
However, due to prolonged heavy rain, on the morning of July 1, landslides appeared on Provincial Road 155, causing soil and rocks to overflow onto the road at Km12+600, National Highway 4D, Lao Cai - Sa Pa BOT Toll Station area.
The landslide not only blocked the road but also damaged many items of the toll station.
On July 7, present at the Lao Cai - Sa Pa BOT Toll Station after about a week of landslides, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters recorded a messy scene with thousands of cubic meters of landslides in this area.
Above the toll station, a large amount of soil has buried the road, overflowing into the area of the route's operator, making it impossible for vehicles to move.
In reality, in the area of non-stop toll collection, rocks and soil were buried, collapsing many equipment, even overflowing onto National Highway 4D to the stream below.
In addition to causing damage to toll stations, the landslide also damaged a number of motorbikes of people living nearby.
However, about a week has passed, and landslide repair has not been carried out. Vehicles to move to Sa Pa will have to go around National Highway 4D next to it.
According to the investigation, the reason why the clearing of rocks and soil has not been implemented after many days of landslides is due to people's disagreement.
Some households demanded that the unit compensate the crop area that had collapsed onto the road before repairing it.
"The slope construction unit caused the land under the toll station to lose its footing, causing a landslide for growing crops. At the end of 2024, landslides also occurred in this area. After making a record, the BOT said that compensation would be paid after 1 month before the people could clear the road.
But since then, they have refused to resolve the issue for the people, and have not received any answers in their petitions. Therefore, this time, people are determined not to let the soil and rocks clear until they receive compensation, said Mr. Chao A Lu, a resident of Ta Phin commune (old Sa Pa town), Lao Cai province.
On July 8, informing Lao Dong, a representative of Lao Cai - Sa Pa BOT Investment Joint Stock Company said that the landslide was due to natural disasters. During the previous embankment construction process, the investor only compensated the recovered land to build the project, and the people's cultivated land outside the construction area was not compensated.
When the incident occurred, people lost their production land, so they were upset and thought that the main reason was that the construction had caused a loss of soil, caused landslides, damage to crops and cultivated land.
"Competition and compensation related to the government and people, we are just an exploitation unit. However, recently, the parties have met and reached an agreement to report to the province to request funding for permanent site clearance in the landslide area. We calculate that it will take at least 2 months to temporarily suspend toll collection to wait for a compensation plan before recovering," said the representative.
In early July 2025, the People's Committee of Ta Phin commune chaired a meeting with the participation of the following units: Lao Cai Provincial Police, Department of Construction, Lao Cai - Sa Pa BOT Investment Joint Stock Company, Road Maintenance Management Board and Provincial Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board.
After the discussion, the parties agreed to report to Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee on the site clearance plan. When the land problem is resolved, the unit will deploy a plan to fix the landslide site.
