Vietnam, Laos to boost connectivity via ports, railways, roads

Vietnam and Laos have agreed to boost their connectivity by implementing several key projects including seaports, roads and railway routes.

The agreement was reached by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Saudi Arabia last Friday.

The two leaders agreed to expedite work on particular projects including wharves No. 1, 2 and 3 of the Vung Ang seaport, an East-West railway route and several roads.

They lauded the launch of Nong Khang airport in Laos’s Huaphanh province in May, saying it would strengthen economic and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

The Lao leader accepted an invitation from PM Chinh to visit Vietnam soon.

In March, Vietnam’s Deo Ca Group and Laos’s Petroleum Trading Lao Holding (PTL) said they would cooperate to build a Vietnam-Laos railway route that would connect with the Laos-China railway link and facilitate trade activities across the region.

According to a joint venture agreement signed by both sides, the 554.7-kilometer Vietnam-Laos railway will run from the Vung Ang seaport to Vientiane city. Vung Ang seaport is currently the quickest path to the sea for landlocked Laos.

The project, to be implemented in the public-private partnership (PPP) format, has an estimated investment of VND149.55 trillion ($6.3 billion). The double-track railway (1,434 mm gauge) will have a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour.

In August, Deo Ca and PTL sent an application to Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport seeking approval to become investors in the Vung Ang-Tan Ap-Mu Gia railway project, the Vietnamese section of the Vietnam-Laos railway, under the PPP format. The approval was granted in October. The joint venture will have to conduct a pre-feasibility study and submit an assessment report, Deo Ca general director Nguyen Quang Vinh said.

The Vung Ang-Tan Ap-Mu Gia railway project is included in Vietnam’s 2021-2030 (vision extended to 2050) national railway network development plan. The 103-kilometer route is estimated to cost nearly VND27.5 trillion ($1.12 billion).