Plans progress for construction of Vangvieng-Luang Prabang expressway

Construction of the second section of an expressway, planned from Vangvieng to Luang Prabang, and a third section running from Luang Prabang to Oudomxay, is moving closer to fruition following talks on the renewal of agreements with investors.

A section of the expressway linking Vientiane and Vangvieng district in Vientiane province.

This marks a major step in moving forward with Phase 2 of the construction of a planned expressway that will eventually link Vientiane and Boten on the Chinese border.
Phase 1 of the Laos-China expressway was completed in 2021 with the construction of a 109-km highway running north from Vientiane to Vangvieng.
Speaking at the 2023 Transport Works Summary Meeting, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transport Mr Lan Sengaphone said a great deal of thought had been given to the construction of arterial highways and the completion of the planned expressway between Vientiane and Boten.
When complete, the expressway between Vientiane and the Chinese border will cover a distance of 445.68 kilometres.
Construction of the Vientiane-Boten expressway has been divided into four phases. The first phase has been completed.
The second section from Vangvieng to Luang Prabang will cover a distance of 136.90km and the third section from Luang Prabang to Oudomxay will run for a distance of 116.58km.
The original Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of these two sections has now expired, but its renewal is being considered.
With regard to Phase 4, covering a distance of 83.08km from Oudomxay to Boten, a Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of this section has been signed with investors but is currently being renewed and updated.
The Vientiane to Vangvieng section of the expressway has proved to be extremely popular as it cut travel time between the capital and the tourist hotspot from about 3.5 hours to just one hour, making a return journey to the riverside town possible in just one day.
This section of the China-Laos expressway was the first highway in Laos to be jointly funded by the Lao government and China’s Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding (YCIH) Group.
YCIH has a 95 percent investment stake in the project while the Lao government contributed 5 percent of the cost.
The expressway will be operated under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model for a period of 50 years.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update April 24, 2024)