Vietnam is hitting the infrastructure projects hard these days. Just last month, transportation officials unveiled a sleek new expressway linking Hanoi and Hai Phong.
Now, the latest project in the Ministry of Transport's pipeline is a possible US$2.5 billion highway that would connect Hanoi and the Lao capital of Vientiane, reports VietnamNet. The 760-kilometer route would extend from the Vietnamese capital's Belt Road 3 to Laos' National Highway 13.
Vietnam's Ministry of Transport is currently considering two plans for the project, one which would pass through Nghe An's Thanh Thuy border gate and another which would travel through Cau Treo border gate in Ha Tinh. The two-phase project would require US$1.5 billion in funding between now and 2020, followed by an additional US$1 billion for its second phase.
For those making the trek between the two capitals, this is pretty exciting news. The budget travel crowd knows how hellish a 24-hour bus journey from Hanoi to Vientiane can be. Though it'll certainly be a while before any of these plans come to fruition – if they do at all – the highway has potential to create an overland route not only from Vietnam to Laos but could also connect the northern part of the country to Thailand and Myanmar overland.
[Photo via Zing]
