Realizing the advantages of multimodal connectivity - Part 1: Expanding the connectivity space

With increasingly improved infrastructure investment, multimodal connections with all types of road, rail, sea and air transport are spreading to form and develop multi-industry centers; especially logistics centers when the Resolution of the Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term of the two provinces and cities emphasizes the development of this field. VNA reporters wrote two articles: "Realizing the advantages of multimodal connections" to clarify the above statement.

Photo caption — The Cam Lo - La Son expressway section is one of 11 component projects of the North - South expressway in the East. Photo: Do Truong/VNA

Lesson 1: Expanding connection space

The merger of Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces into Quang Tri province (from July 1, 2025), along with key roads, deep-water seaports and airports being invested in construction and upgrading, and the North-South high-speed railway section passing through these two provinces and cities preparing to be invested in, is creating new development space for Hue city and Quang Tri province.

Expanding the space connecting the corridors

Hue City and Quang Tri Province are both located on the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), connecting the Central region of Vietnam with Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. Among them, Quang Tri Province is located at the starting point on the Vietnamese side of the EWEC starting from the Lao Bao International Border Gate. Both Quang Tri and Hue are gateways to the East Sea on the EWEC with a deep-water seaport system that has been and is being invested in and built.

The existing East-West axes in Quang Tri province include: Lao Bao international border gate - Cua Viet seaport via National Highway 9; Cha Lo international border gate - Hon La seaport via National Highway 12A. Two key East-West axes that are being invested in by Quang Tri province include: La Lay international border gate - My Thuy seaport via National Highway 15D; Cam Lo - Lao Bao highway connecting Lao Bao international border gate with the North-South highway in the East.

In addition to being located on the existing EWEC route, Hue city also has East = West axes connecting three eastern seaport clusters including Chan May, Thuan An, Phong Dien with two Vietnam - Laos border gates in the west including A Dot and Hong Van through National Highways 49, 49D, 49E, 49F.

Regarding the North-South axis, in addition to the old routes such as National Highway 1A, the North-South railway, and the Ho Chi Minh road, the North-South expressway in the East through Hue city and Quang Tri province has been opened to traffic. The North-South coastal route connecting the East-West axis through Hue and Quang Tri is being invested in and constructed; in which, many bridges and routes will be completed by the end of 2025 and in 2026.

The North-South high-speed railway section passing through Quang Tri province is more than 190 km long, passing through Hue city for 95 km. When invested, it will create a great driving force for economic development, especially tourism development - the spearhead sector of the two provinces and cities. Phu Bai International Airport (Hue) and Dong Hoi Airport (Quang Tri) have been and are being upgraded; Quang Tri Airport (Quang Tri) is expected to be put into operation in mid-2026, helping to complete multimodal transport.

Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee Le Duc Tien said that Quang Tri has all types of transportation, creating a modern, interconnected system ready to welcome international trade and investment flows as a foundation to turn the province into a regional and international economic and logistics center.

According to Dr. Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies, Hue's transport infrastructure is assessed to be quite synchronous with a full range of roads, railways, airways and sea routes. In particular, the Thuan An sea-crossing bridge (on the coastal route) is about to be completed (expected by the end of 2025) and will open an additional fast connection route from the center of Hue to the sea, promoting the development of coastal urban areas.

Complete infrastructure to promote the advantages of the EWEC route

Quang Tri and Hue both have the advantage of being gateways to the East Sea on the EWEC route, so they are focusing on completing the infrastructure of the East-West axis, connecting the border gates at the Vietnam-Laos border in the West with the seaports in the East. In the period from 2025 to 2030, Quang Tri province prioritizes investment in completing National Highway 15D connecting La Lay International Border Gate with My Thuy seaport. National Highway 15D is 92 km long with 5 sections; of which 2 sections with 42 km have not been invested in construction to open the route, including: National Highway 1A to Cam Lo - La Son Expressway, 8 km long, with an investment capital of about 990 billion VND; Cam Lo - La Son Expressway to Ho Chi Minh Road, West branch, 34 km long, with an investment capital of over 5,660 billion VND. The remaining sections of National Highway 15D have been built but need to be upgraded and expanded.

The Cam Lo - Lao Bao expressway, 56 km long, with a scale of 4 lanes and an estimated investment capital of nearly 14,000 billion VND, is also a key project of Quang Tri. This project is invested under the public-private partnership (PPP) model and is expected to be completed before 2030. The province has proposed the Government to allocate state capital to participate in the project with nearly 70% of the total investment capital. When completed, the Cam Lo - Lao Bao expressway will directly connect Lao Bao International Border Gate with seaports in the Central region.

The province is also accelerating the project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 12A, the section avoiding Ba Don ward and Song Gianh Cement Factory, nearly 11 km long, with a total investment of over VND 510 billion. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, helping to reduce the load on National Highway 12A connecting Cha Lo International Border Gate with National Highway 1A and Hon La seaport. Quang Tri Province National Assembly Delegate Ha Sy Dong said that key transportation projects in the province are being and will be invested in to create spillovers, help increase regional connectivity and create momentum for economic development.

Meanwhile, the People's Committee of Hue City has proposed that the Government pay attention to allocating capital from the central budget to soon deploy investment in the complete construction of National Highway 49F from Phong Dien Port to Hong Van Border Gate. National Highway 49F is the shortest route connecting Hong Van Border Gate with Phong Dien Port, about 100 km long, with 3 sections; of which, the first section of the route, 17 km long, from National Highway 1A to Phong Dien Port, has been invested; the last section of the route from Ho Chi Minh Road to Hong Van Border Gate, about 13 km long, is being upgraded and expanded, expected to be completed in 2026; the remaining section, 70 km long, from National Highway 1A to Ho Chi Minh Road, with a total investment of about 5,500 billion VND, has not been invested.

Regarding seaports, from March 2025, the Hon La International General Port Project, which was invested by the former Quang Binh province, now Quang Tri province, has a scale of over 39 hectares, with a total capital of nearly 2,300 billion VND. In phase 1, the project will build wharf No. 1 with a length of 230m and wharf No. 2 with a length of 240m, receiving general cargo ships with a capacity of 50,000 tons, bulk cargo ships with a capacity of 70,000 tons, with a capacity of 3 million tons/year. In phase 2, the project will build wharf No. 3 with a length of 240m and wharf No. 4 with a length of 260m, receiving ships with a capacity of up to 100,000 tons, with a capacity of 6 million tons/year. According to Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province Tran Phong, the project opens up opportunities for trade connection with major economic centers in the country and internationally; becoming an important driving force for Quang Tri to develop strongly in the coming time.

My Thuy Seaport Project in the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone, phase 1 invests in berths 1 and 2 with a capital of 5,000 billion VND. The project is urgently under construction to complete berth 1 by the end of 2025, berth 2 by the beginning of 2026. When completed, the berths of My Thuy deep-water port can receive ships with a capacity of 100,000 tons.

Hue City has also implemented the investment project to build general container terminals No. 4 and 5 of Vsico Chan May port with a scale of over 20 hectares, with a total investment of nearly 1,680 billion VND. The project will build 2 wharves for general container ships with a total length of 540m and warehouses, ensuring the ability to receive general cargo ships of 70,000 tons. It is expected that in early 2026, the entire project will come into operation, contributing to shortening the transportation distance and increasing the volume of goods passing through in the Central region.

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Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/hien-thuc-hoa-loi-the-ket-noi-da-phuong-thuc-bai-1-mo-rong-khong-giant-ket-noi-20251015125511191.htm