Laos, Vietnam speed up plans for expressway

[Viet]

TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 08/05/2016 14:51 GMT + 7

A US$3.7 billion expressway connecting Hanoi and Vientiane will be constructed and put into use by 2025, Vietnam and Laos’ transport ministries announced on Thursday at a meeting in the north-central Vietnamese city of Vinh.


Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and Laos’ Ministry of Public Works and Transport attended the meeting in Vinh to discuss a plan for an expressway that would connect the two countries’ capitals.

The 725-kilometer, six-lane expressway, estimated to cost over $3.7 billion in total investment, is set to be funded by official development assistance (ODA) from Japan.

As sections of the expressway in Vietnam have already been constructed, around $3.1 billion of the total investment will be used to build the 381 kilometers of the road that runs in Laos’ territory.

Upon completion, the expressway will connect Vientiane and Hanoi, traversing Paksan City in the central Laotian province of Bolikhamsai and Vietnam’s Thanh Thuy Border Gate in the north-central province of Nghe An.

In the first phase of the project, four lanes will be built, while the entire six lanes are expected to be completed sometime between 2020 and 2025.

 

[dadeechi]

TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 08/05/2016 14:51 GMT + 7

A US$3.7 billion expressway connecting Hanoi and Vientiane will be constructed and put into use by 2025, Vietnam and Laos’ transport ministries announced on Thursday at a meeting in the north-central Vietnamese city of Vinh.


Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and Laos’ Ministry of Public Works and Transport attended the meeting in Vinh to discuss a plan for an expressway that would connect the two countries’ capitals.

The 725-kilometer, six-lane expressway, estimated to cost over $3.7 billion in total investment, is set to be funded by official development assistance (ODA) from Japan.

As sections of the expressway in Vietnam have already been constructed, around $3.1 billion of the total investment will be used to build the 381 kilometers of the road that runs in Laos’ territory.

Upon completion, the expressway will connect Vientiane and Hanoi, traversing Paksan City in the central Laotian province of Bolikhamsai and Vietnam’s Thanh Thuy Border Gate in the north-central province of Nghe An.

In the first phase of the project, four lanes will be built, while the entire six lanes are expected to be completed sometime between 2020 and 2025.

How are Vietnam's relations with Laos? Isn't Laos very close to China?

 

[ahojunk]

If this expressway goes ahead, it will be good for Hanoi and Vientiane.

It will boost trade, communication and transportation between these two cities.

It will bring great benefits to the people and towns along the expressway too.

 

[dadeechi]

It's good for MGC too


Call to speed up Mekong-Ganga Cooperation initiative


IANS | New Delhi July 25, 2016 Last Updated at 14:48 IST



The countries under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) have called for imparting urgency to the initiative for the sake of integration and connectivity in the southeast Asian region.

"The ministers endorsed the SOM (Senior Officials Meeting) report and emphasised that collaboration under MGC must be given a sense of urgency since it actively supports the initiative for Asean (Association for South East Asian Nations) integration, and the master plan on Asean connectivity, that helps the narrowing of the development gap, and contributes towards the implementation of the Asean Community Vision 2025," a joint statement issued at the end of the Seventh Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting held in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic, on Sunday said.
The meeting was preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting on Saturday.

"The ministers appreciated India's contribution to capacity building and human resource development in the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) countries, including over 900 annual scholarships under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme," the statement said.

"The ministers agreed on the need for effective utilisation of these scholarships including those granted to study at Nalanda University (in India)."

The meeting was attended by V.K. Singh, India's Minister of State for External Affairs, Prak Sokhonn, Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.

According to the statement, the ministers welcomed the suggestion by India that scholarships be utilised to train faculty members for the Centres for English Languages Training (CELTs), Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) and the Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) established by India to provide them long term sustainability.

It said the ministers welcomed the completion of construction by India of the MGC Textiles Museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia, thanked all partner countries on its operationalisation and decided to jointly collaborate on the promotion of the museum as a popular tourist attraction through effective ways.

"The ministers appreciated the short documentary film on the museum commissioned by India," it said.

It stated that the ministers recognised the significance of ensuring food security for the citizens of the MGC countries.

"They acknowledged that despite rice being the most important crop in MGC countries, rice production continues to face many challenges and also the need to cooperate among others, in research and development on production of quality seeds, short duration and stress-tolerant varieties," the statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the concept note on project of rice production and downstream processing circulated by India after the 6th MGC MM and tasked the SOM to identify a list of potential cooperation activities."

The participating countries also concurred with the concept note circulated by India after the 6th MGC Ministerial Meeting and instructed the Senior Officials Meeting to consider the establishment of an MGC joint working group on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to review and monitor cooperation in the SME sector, including the participation of the private sector, wherever applicable, and promote exchange of best practices.

"The ministers noted that the guidelines for the utilisation of the India-CLMV Quick Impact Projects Fund were circulated by India and that 20 projects have been identified for the fund (five for Vietnam, 10 for Cambodia, three for Lao PDR and two for Myanmar)," the statement said.

"Five projects in Cambodia and five in Vietnam are already under implementation. The ministers committed to kick start project work in 2016-2017."

The statement also said that the countries welcomed the consultation between Asean Connectivity Coordination Committee and India and agreed to discuss the extension of the Trilateral Highway through Cambodia, Lao PDR and the new highway to Vietnam.

"In this regard, the ministers agreed to step up efforts towards enhancing connectivity between India and the Mekong sub-region," it said.

The ministers also agreed to enhance tourism cooperation among MGC countries through jointly conducting tourism marketing and promotional activities, exploring tourist destination for outbound tour operators and media of MGC countries and developing Mekong tours for Indian tourists.

--IANS

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...ga-cooperation-initiative-116072500477_1.html

How about extending the current India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

 

[BoQ77]

How are Vietnam's relations with Laos? Isn't Laos very close to China?

Vietnam and Laos closer.
This project provide Laos the link to the closest seaport in Vietnam territory.

 

[NotSoSuper]

Vietnam and Laos closer.
This project provide Laos the link to the closest seaport in Vietnam territory.

china already making railway line to connect vientiane with thai ports...at present land locked country laos is using lamchabeng port in thailand which will not change in near future.

 

[waz]

Looks great. The Japanese are all over Asia with investment. For many years they have paid way too much attention to Europe, the US and Oceania, and literally forgotten their own backyard.

 

[NotSoSuper]

It's good for MGC too


Call to speed up Mekong-Ganga Cooperation initiative


IANS | New Delhi July 25, 2016 Last Updated at 14:48 IST



The countries under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) have called for imparting urgency to the initiative for the sake of integration and connectivity in the southeast Asian region.

"The ministers endorsed the SOM (Senior Officials Meeting) report and emphasised that collaboration under MGC must be given a sense of urgency since it actively supports the initiative for Asean (Association for South East Asian Nations) integration, and the master plan on Asean connectivity, that helps the narrowing of the development gap, and contributes towards the implementation of the Asean Community Vision 2025," a joint statement issued at the end of the Seventh Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting held in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic, on Sunday said.
The meeting was preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting on Saturday.

"The ministers appreciated India's contribution to capacity building and human resource development in the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) countries, including over 900 annual scholarships under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme," the statement said.

"The ministers agreed on the need for effective utilisation of these scholarships including those granted to study at Nalanda University (in India)."

The meeting was attended by V.K. Singh, India's Minister of State for External Affairs, Prak Sokhonn, Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.

According to the statement, the ministers welcomed the suggestion by India that scholarships be utilised to train faculty members for the Centres for English Languages Training (CELTs), Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) and the Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) established by India to provide them long term sustainability.

It said the ministers welcomed the completion of construction by India of the MGC Textiles Museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia, thanked all partner countries on its operationalisation and decided to jointly collaborate on the promotion of the museum as a popular tourist attraction through effective ways.

"The ministers appreciated the short documentary film on the museum commissioned by India," it said.

It stated that the ministers recognised the significance of ensuring food security for the citizens of the MGC countries.

"They acknowledged that despite rice being the most important crop in MGC countries, rice production continues to face many challenges and also the need to cooperate among others, in research and development on production of quality seeds, short duration and stress-tolerant varieties," the statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the concept note on project of rice production and downstream processing circulated by India after the 6th MGC MM and tasked the SOM to identify a list of potential cooperation activities."

The participating countries also concurred with the concept note circulated by India after the 6th MGC Ministerial Meeting and instructed the Senior Officials Meeting to consider the establishment of an MGC joint working group on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to review and monitor cooperation in the SME sector, including the participation of the private sector, wherever applicable, and promote exchange of best practices.

"The ministers noted that the guidelines for the utilisation of the India-CLMV Quick Impact Projects Fund were circulated by India and that 20 projects have been identified for the fund (five for Vietnam, 10 for Cambodia, three for Lao PDR and two for Myanmar)," the statement said.

"Five projects in Cambodia and five in Vietnam are already under implementation. The ministers committed to kick start project work in 2016-2017."

The statement also said that the countries welcomed the consultation between Asean Connectivity Coordination Committee and India and agreed to discuss the extension of the Trilateral Highway through Cambodia, Lao PDR and the new highway to Vietnam.

"In this regard, the ministers agreed to step up efforts towards enhancing connectivity between India and the Mekong sub-region," it said.

The ministers also agreed to enhance tourism cooperation among MGC countries through jointly conducting tourism marketing and promotional activities, exploring tourist destination for outbound tour operators and media of MGC countries and developing Mekong tours for Indian tourists.

--IANS

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...ga-cooperation-initiative-116072500477_1.html

How about extending the current India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

View attachment 323685

MGC was mentioned in 2014..but after 2014 it was not mentioned in any forum..also look what is major offerings in mgc, except highway proposal all is peanuts...including already iniciated or completed projects in mgc will only make powerpoints stronger..

 

[BoQ77]

china already making railway line to connect vientiane with thai ports...at present land locked country laos is using lamchabeng port in thailand which will not change in near future.

You may see that the project has 2 parts.
1. The roads from Thanh Thuy to Hanoi is completed
2. The road from Vientiane to Pakxane to Thanh Thuy, get 3.1 billion to be done. And after completion make transport from/to Laos via Thanh Thuy to the Vietnam coasts easier.
That's the biggest part of the project.
The project could help to link Hanoi - Vientiane, but the most benefit is link Laos to Vietnam seaports which are the most effective way for Laos cargo, compare to the link to Thai seaports.

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

Vietnam and Laos closer.
This project provide Laos the link to the closest seaport in Vietnam territory.

speechless

 

[NotSoSuper]

You may see that the project has 2 parts.
1. The roads from Thanh Thuy to Hanoi is completed
2. The road from Vientiane to Pakxane to Thanh Thuy, get 3.1 billion to be done. And after completion make transport from/to Laos via Thanh Thuy to the Vietnam coasts easier.
That's the biggest part of the project.
The project could help to link Hanoi - Vientiane, but the most benefit is link Laos to Vietnam seaports which are the most effective way for Laos cargo, compare to the link to Thai seaports.


View attachment 323818

it should be understood that this is not pioneer project to connect laos with viet ports...roads to pakxan to viet was already there. Even on daily basis laos have bus transportation to almost all major cities to viet. Major export from laos to viet is woods and only eastern countries like japan, korea etc are using viet ports to supply goods to laos. but major export of laos goods is to western countries therefore bankok is major port for laos.

It should be noted that laos is not manufacturing basic goods rather they import all from thai..high speed railway link to thai ports will further increase exp-imp between these two.

 

[BoQ77]

Ok Vientiane nearly at the border Laos - Thailand.
And I am sure you are not in logistic, such a distance by land transport costs much.

And you may not know that Laos provinces, especially in Southern region have connected to more than One of Vietnam seaports.

 

[NotSoSuper]

Ok Vientiane nearly at the border Laos - Thailand.
And I am sure you are not in logistic, such a distance by land transport costs much.

And you may not know that Laos provinces, especially in Southern region have connected to more than One of Vietnam seaports.

compare land transportation cost with sea transportation..why any shipment from europe or any western country will come to viet port. and i said above eastern countries like japan korea are using viet ports.

most of the border of laos with thai is seperated by mekong river, which forces laos to have entry points only through bridges which is demerit in compare to border with viet or china. but contrary look at the enthusiasm of laos in making more bridges on mekong. in latest news they are making new bridge on pakxan. southern laos are near to bankok. in northern laos goods are supplied from china therefore you will find chinese people and culture more in northern part

 

[xiao qi]

How are Vietnam's relations with Laos? Isn't Laos very close to China?

I don't know the real relation now, but as my opinion, Laos has relation closer Vietnam than China, although China tries to lure her over SCS issues for interests economy, A lot of Laos officer were educated in Vietnam, In 1989 Vietnam sent some divisions to help Laos save her country and defeat Thai in Thai- Lao border dispute

 

[Viet]

Laos, Vietnam speed up plans for Vientiane-Hanoi expressway
March 10, 2017 09:11

By Vientiane Times
Asia News Network


Laos and Vietnam have agreed to take the next steps to start construction of an expressway linking the capitals of Vientiane and Hanoi this year.

The agreement was reached at a bilateral meeting held in Hanoi on Tuesday between Laos' Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Vietnam's Ministry of Transport, the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reported, citing the Vietnam News Agency.

Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong led the Lao delegation attending the meeting.

The ministries agreed to seek investment and support, firstly to carry out a feasibility study for the expressway.

A senior official at the Lao ministry's Road and Bridge Department told Vientiane Times yesterday that a primary study had already been carried out.

Citing the primary study, Vietnam's Thanh Nien News Agency reported previously that the cost of the six-lane 707-kilometre route was estimated at more than US$4.5 billion.

During last week's meeting, the ministries were also unanimous about the need to coordinate more closely to speed up construction of a railway to connect Vientiane in landlocked Laos with the Vung Ang port in Vietnam's central province of Ha Tinh, according to the VOV.

In a Memorandum of Understanding on transport cooperation for 2016-2025 signed between the Vietnamese and Lao governments in September 2015, the two sides defined the Hanoi-Vientiane expressway and the Vientiane-Vung Ang railway as strategic projects that needed to be carried out quickly to boost bilateral trade.

These projects are viewed as prerequisites for Laos to become a goods transit centre within the region.

The two ministries also agreed to facilitate the transit of Lao goods through Vung Ang port. They will review the one-stop-shop model at Vietnam's Lao Bao and Laos' Densavan border crossing while immediately considering the application of this model at two other border crossings (Cha Lo-Na Phao, and Cau Treo-Namphao) to smooth the way for Lao goods to reach Vung Ang port.

They also planned to set up a joint working group to step up feasibility studies for new roads in Laos and to enhance personnel training and experience sharing.

During a reception for Dr Bounchanh on Tuesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged that Vietnam would do its best to help Laos, especially with transport development, Vietnam's Nhan Dan News Agency reported on the day.

He said Vietnam would allow Laos to use Vietnam's sea ports to further its economic development, and encourage Laos to cooperate with Vietnam in building and exploiting sea ports.

Regarding the Hanoi-Vientiane Expressway, the Vietnamese prime minister agreed that Vietnam would complete a feasibility study for the plan this year, asking the two countries' ministries of transport to work closely with foreign consultation units to complete the work as soon as possible.

Mr Phuc asked the two countries' ministries of transport and foreign affairs to review the operation of the one-stop-shop model at border crossings, with a view to facilitating transport between Laos and Vietnam and ensuring security at shared border areas.

For his part, Dr Bounchanh informed his Vietnamese hosts about the cooperation between the two ministries of transport in implementing the guidelines laid down by the two governments at the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee's 39th meeting.

Regarding a project to build a road connecting Luang Prabang province with Vietnam's Dien Bien province, he said Laos was in the process of selecting contractors to coordinate with Vietnam to accelerate the project.

The two countries' ministries of transport will also team up to carry out other projects, in line with the directions of the two governments, he added.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, during the government's monthly meeting for February, entrusted the relevant Lao ministries to work with their Vietnamese counterparts to push for the implementation of Laos-Vietnam cooperation projects that were approved by the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee's 39th meeting. These include the Vientiane-Hanoi Expressway and the Vung-Ang Seaport project, which landlocked Laos will use as a trade route.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/aec/asean_plus/30308512