Preparing to have a 5.5km long cross-border coal conveyor belt in Quang Tri

On January 24, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province said that it had directed relevant units to study and complete procedures to implement the project of building warehouses and a conveyor system to transport coal for import and export between Laos and Vietnam through the La Lay (Quang Tri) - La - Lay (Salavan, Laos) international border gate pair.

Previously, on January 5, the Government agreed to deploy a conveyor belt section of the project to build a conveyor belt system to transport coal from Laos to Vietnam across the Vietnam-Laos border.

This project is invested and built in 2 provinces between Vietnam and Laos. In which, there is a warehouse in Vietnam located in A Ngo commune (Dakrong district, Quang Tri province) about 4.4km from La Lay border gate (Quang Tri); the warehouse (on the Vietnamese side) is expected to be built on an area of 15 hectares including closed warehouses for coal storage, outdoor warehouses, service works such as repair workshops, office buildings, workers' housing, dining halls, roads, etc.

In particular, the coal conveyor line has a total length of 5.5km, crossing the border with the starting point at the cargo warehouse on the Lao side, the conveyor part is located in Lao territory for about 200m. The end point at the cargo warehouse on the Vietnamese side, the conveyor part is located in Vietnamese territory with a length of about 5.5km.

Coal trucks lined up at La Lay International Border Gate. Photo: Hung Tho.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Tri province, for the goods warehouse category, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the province determines it as commercial and service land. However, the coal conveyor line does not have specific regulations on determining the type of land. Therefore, this unit is confused in determining whether it is commercial, service land or traffic land. Therefore, the Department has requested the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to provide guidance on the type of land for the coal conveyor line, in order to implement the project.

It is known that the coal conveyor belt cutting across the border at the international border gate pair La Lay (Quang Tri) - La Lay (Salavan, Laos) is an unprecedented project. When put into operation, the expected capacity is 6,000 tons/hour. The conveyor belt will help shorten the time, increase the volume of coal cleared through customs, reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution at the border gate area.

The conveyor belt will be constructed on support pillars, the standard distance between the support pillars is 24m. The support pillars and conveyor bridge are made of steel; the height of the support pillars is from 5 - 20m depending on the terrain. The estimated construction time is about 6 months to 1 year after completing all procedures. According to the investor, the total capital is about 1,840 billion VND, construction in mid-2024 and exploitation in 2025.

In 2022 and 2023, coal imported from Laos to Vietnam through La Lay International Border Gate is very large, about 4,000 tons of coal per day and will continue to increase in the coming time. However, the infrastructure at the border gate and National Highway 15D is not yet adequate, making coal transportation difficult.

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