VIENTIANE, Dec 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Vientiane-Vangvieng section of the China-Laos expressway, the first highway in Laos, constructed by the government and China’s Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding Group (YCIH), was inaugurated yesterday.
The opening ceremony was held simultaneously in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and Kunming of China’s Yunnan Province, via video conferencing.
Bounnhang Vorachith, general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos, and Sonexay Siphandone, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and Investment, in Vientiane, joined Ruan Chengfa, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Yunnan Provincial Committee and the province’s Acting Governor, Wang Yubo, in Kunming, together with representatives from China and Laos, attended.
The China-Laos expressway starts in Vientiane and ends at the Laos-China border town of Boten, with an approximate length of 440 km. The project adopts Chinese technical standards for construction and operation, and is implemented in four phases. Construction of the first phase – the Vientiane-Vangvieng section, kicked off on Dec 30, 2018.
The Vientiane-Vangvieng section, opened to traffic yesterday, is about 110 km long, designed as a two-way four-lane expressway, with a design speed of 80 km to 100 km per hour.
The Vientiane-Vangvieng section, 95 percent invested by YCIH and five percent by the Lao government, is to be operated under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model for 50 years.
There are 36 bridges, 402 culverts, seven interchanges, 11 separated interchanges, one tunnel, eight toll gates, three service areas, and two parking areas along the road.
Construction of the expressway overcame multiple difficulties, especially those caused by the COVID-19 pandemics. The journey from the capital Vientiane to the tourist town of Vangvieng will be shortened from the 3.5 hours to one hour.
After its completion, the China-Laos expressway will become the backbone of central and northern Laos’ transportation, promote economic and social development in Laos, and will help accelerate the construction of a rapid transportation network covering the entire Indochina Peninsula.
The Chinese company hopes that it will benefit the development of cross-border self-driving travel, cross-border logistics, cross-border commerce and cultural exchanges, as well as, promote the building of China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, regional economic integration and regional community with a shared future, and the Belt and Road Initiative implementation.– NNN-XINHUA
