Expressway between Ha Long Bay and China border completed

Van Don – Mong Cai Expressway, a section of a 176-km route linking Ha Long Bay with the Chinese border at Mong Cai, opens to traffict Thursday.

The expressway, which runs more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) across northern Quang Ninh Province, connecting Van Don Economic Zone and Mong Cai Town bordering China, will be open for free in one month.

It connects with two other existing expressway sections in Quang Ninh, Bach Dang - Dai Yen (25 kilometers) and Ha Long - Van Don (71.2 kilometers) to create a 176-kilometer expressway section running through Quang Ninh to link Ha Long Bay with the Chinese border at Mong Cai.

The entire 176 kilometers will then connect to the 300-kilometer Hanoi – Ha Long Expressway and 264-kilometer Noi Bai – Lao Cai Expressway to become the longest such route in the country.

Speaking at the ceremony held Thursday morning to inaugurate the project, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the section has contributed to improving connectivity of the three localities of Hanoi, the northern port city of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, home to world heritage Ha Long Bay.

Van Don – Mong Cai Expressway will shorten the time to travel from Van Don Economic Zone to Mong Cai Border Gate to 50 minutes from two hours.

It will contribute to reducing the travel time from Hanoi to Mong Cai Town to three hours instead of 5.5 hours as before.

Work started on the expressway in April, 2019 in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode, at the original cost of VND11.2 trillion ($484.76 million).

But in May 2020, the government approved a proposal by Quang Ninh to split the expressway into two different projects: the Van Don – Tien Yen section that stretches 16.8 kilometers and costs more than VND3.65 trillion of the state budget, and the 63.26-kilometer Tien Yen – Mong Cai section built under the PPP format at VND9.11 trillion, with the private investor being Van Don Infrastructure Investment and Development Co Ltd of Sun Group.

Toll fees will not be applied for Van Don – Tien Yen as it was built using the state budget. The fee will range from VND132,000 to VND512,000 on the Tien Yen – Mong Cai section.