Promoting the advantages of My Thuy Economic Corridor

Quang Tri's My Thuy - La Lay economic corridor connecting with Salavan province of Laos and Ubon Ratchathani province of Thailand (PARAEWEC) and vice versa is considered the shortest corridor to the East Sea with a length of about 350 km. Recognizing the strategic importance of PARAEWEC, Quang Tri province has been focusing resources to invest in exploiting and promoting the advantages of this corridor, especially the My Thuy - La Lay section.

Many vehicles transporting coal from Laos wait to complete entry procedures through La Lay international border gate - Photo: LQH

Many good signs

In recent days, having witnessed the bustling atmosphere at La Lay International Border Gate, we feel that businesses and people completing immigration procedures are all satisfied. Both immigration and exit flows at the Joint Control House at the border gate have been put into operation to help the authorities at the border gate process procedures for vehicles, goods, and people more synchronously. Each immigration and exit flow has four lanes operating at the same time, helping the border gate to be clear, without the congestion as before.

A representative of the La Lay International Border Gate Customs Branch under the Quang Tri Customs Department said that better infrastructure at the border gate is one of the factors that has contributed to the sharp increase in customs clearance of goods in recent times. In the first three months of the year, the import-export and import-export activity indexes through La Lay International Border Gate all increased compared to the same period in 2023.

As of March 15, the total import and export turnover reached nearly 50.4 million USD, up 41.88%, the total import and export goods reached 415.4 thousand tons, up 53.01%, the main imported goods are coal and wood of all kinds. In 2023, the total two-way turnover through this border gate reached more than 261 million USD, the state budget revenue reached 575 billion VND, an increase of hundreds of times compared to 2022, in which the budget revenue from coal imports from Laos reached more than 500 billion VND.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Duc Tien said that Quang Tri has a great advantage in promoting the import of coal from Laos through La Lay International Border Gate into Vietnam to My Thuy seaport on this shortest economic corridor. About 100 km from La Lay International Border Gate is the Kaleum coal mine belonging to the Phonesack Group of Laos, with a total reserve of about 1 billion tons. The mining volume in 2023 will reach more than 7.7 million tons, of which more than 2.5 million tons will be exported through La Lay International Border Gate. In 2024, the group plans to exploit about 22.6 million tons of coal, export about 19 million tons, of which 11 million tons will be exported to the Vietnamese market, mainly through La Lay International Border Gate.

Meanwhile, according to the National Energy Master Plan, domestic coal consumption demand by 2030 will be more than 130 million tons/year. In particular, the North Central and Central Coast provinces have many thermal power plants that annually consume a huge amount of coal.

Currently, domestic coal only meets the demand of about 20 million tons/year; the remaining amount of coal must be imported by sea, the operating cost is higher than importing coal from Laos through La Lay International Border Gate. In addition to ensuring national energy security, importing coal from Laos through La Lay International Border Gate to My Thuy seaport reduces the cost by 20 USD per ton of coal because it takes advantage of the shorter distance of this corridor compared to other places.

In order for the cooperation between Vietnam and Laos to be commensurate with the special relationship, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province has synchronously implemented many solutions to promote trade in goods in general and coal in particular, including developing a comprehensive plan to transport coal from Laos through La Lay International Border Gate to My Thuy port.

Upon the proposal of the province, ministries and branches, on January 5, 2024, the Government issued Resolution No. 04/NQ-CP agreeing to build a conveyor section of the Project to build a conveyor system to transport coal from Laos to Vietnam across the Vietnam - Laos border at La Lay International Border Gate.

This is the first conveyor system invested in Vietnam. Phase 1 of the project has a 5.5 km long conveyor belt with a capacity of 6,000 tons of goods/hour; the starting point is at the Lao transit warehouse, the ending point is at the Vietnamese transit warehouse in A Ngo commune, Dakrong district, Quang Tri province, aiming to build four conveyor belts to transport coal across the border.

Quang Tri is currently urgently completing the investment approval documents for investors, and is expected to start construction of the conveyor belt section on Vietnamese soil in June 2024. The section on Lao soil has completed the construction of a coal transit warehouse, about 500m from La Lay International Border Gate.

After the project completes phase 1, it will help reduce the pressure on customs clearance at this border gate, overcome the risk of congestion on National Highway 15D, increase budget revenue for Quang Tri province from coal imports and other revenues from production activities of related enterprises. Phase 2 of the project will build a closed conveyor belt on a trough bridge and a 70 km long steel girder and truss system to transport coal from the transit warehouse in A Ngo commune, Dakrong district to My Thuy seaport.

Speed up construction of National Highway 15D and My Thuy seaport

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Dang Quang said that in Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW dated November 3, 2022 of the Politburo on socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security in the North Central and Central Coast regions to 2030, with a vision to 2045, it is determined to promote economic cooperation through border gates in the region associated with the East-West Economic Corridor.

In Quang Tri, two economic corridors along the East-West axis, Dong Ha - Lao Bao and My Thuy - La Lay, were included in the resolution to connect the region and countries on the East-West Economic Corridor from Myanmar, Thailand, Laos to the East Sea through two international border gates, Lao Bao and La Lay.

Furthermore, this connection will make economic exchanges between countries in the Indian Ocean and Pacific region much more convenient than by sea. Promoting the role of the My Thuy La Lay Economic Corridor is identified as an important content, of fundamental nature, a lever to exploit the unique advantages of Quang Tri, creating a breakthrough for future development, which is also the realization of Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW.

Therefore, the province is investing in comprehensively upgrading the infrastructure of the border gate area and implementing procedures to soon mobilize resources to complete the construction of National Highway 15D, nearly 70 km long, from My Thuy beach to La Lay International Border Gate. The process of trading goods from My Thuy seaport to countries on PARAEWEC via National Highway 15D is an urgent need to better exploit the potential and space of Quang Tri to serve sustainable development.

National Highway 15D, from La Lay International Border Gate to Ho Chi Minh Road, West Branch, is 12 km long, passing through mountainous areas and steep passes, so it is being upgraded to widen the road surface and reduce sharp bends. The first section from My Thuy Port to National Highway 1, 13.8 km long, passing through Hai Lang District, was invested in more than ten years ago with a level III delta scale. Thus, only a 42 km section from National Highway 1 to Cam Lo-La Son Highway and then to Ho Chi Minh Road, West Branch, needs to be newly invested in to open the route according to the plan.

According to Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Dang Quang, the Prime Minister has agreed to assign the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to be the competent authority to call for investment under the PPP method for the project to build a new National Highway 15D section from National Highway 1 to the West branch of Ho Chi Minh Road.

Based on the policy of the Provincial Standing Committee, the Provincial People's Committee has assigned units to survey and research the construction of this project. This section will be invested according to the standards of a grade III delta road with an estimated capital of about 3,900 billion VND. The province will support the cost of site clearance for a scale of four lanes according to regulations.

Thus, the first section of National Highway 15D connects to My Thuy seaport. The My Thuy port project in Hai Lang district was approved by the Prime Minister for investment and started construction in 2020, with a total area of 685 hectares.

After a period of slow progress due to many difficulties and obstacles, Quang Tri province and investor My Thuy International Port Joint Stock Company started construction of My Thuy Port Area Project at the end of March 2024, striving to put two berths into use by early 2026.

My Thuy port area is a very important traffic project, a deep-water seaport, with a favorable location serving the economic and social development of the province and the region, considered the gateway to the East Sea. With such an important role, My Thuy deep-water port will develop into a regional and world cargo transit center according to the planning of Quang Tri province for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.

After completing the investment in National Highway 15D and My Thuy port area, these two key projects will connect the region and other regions in and outside the country with the transportation system such as: Ho Chi Minh Road West Branch, Cam Lo-La Son Highway, Dong Ha-Lao Bao Highway, National Highway 1, North-South Railway, creating a synchronous transportation network, convenient for transporting goods in general and coal in particular from Thailand and Laos to Vietnam with a very large estimated annual traffic volume.

With the presence of all types of infrastructure in the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone such as airports, seaports, VSIP industrial parks... it is expected to strongly and synchronously promote the sustainable development of Quang Tri province as well as the region in the future.

Quang Lam

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/phat-huy-loi-the-hanh-lang-kinh-te-my-thuy-la-lay-186591.htm