The 163.5-km Bao Ha-Lai Chau expressway would link the existing Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway, which runs from Hanoi to the northern border, to the Ma Lu Thang international border gate opposite China’s Yunnan Province.
The four-lane route, designed for speeds of 80-100 kph, would cut through deeply dissected mountains and steep river valleys in Lao Cai and Lai Chau provinces.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed in principle in March to advance the project, designated CT.13, and assigned Lai Chau Province as the managing authority, according to a government notice dated March 17, the government news portal reported.
Lai Chau has requested VND100 billion ($3.8 million) from the central budget to fund pre-investment preparation in 2026, saying its own budget has been fully allocated to other commitments.
The route would start at the IC16 interchange on the Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway, pass through Lao Cai for about 50 km, then continue 113.5 km through Lai Chau Province to the border gate. The pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026 and submitted to the government in the third quarter. If investment approval comes by year-end as targeted, construction could begin in the second quarter of 2028 and finish by 2031.
Leaders of both provinces met on March 27 to coordinate on the project, agreeing to assign their departments of construction as lead agencies for the preparation phase.
Lai Chau is one of Vietnam’s most remote provinces, a mountainous border region in the northwest covering more than 9,068 sq.km. Home to around 497,000 people from 20 ethnic groups, the province shares more than 265 km of border with Yunnan and holds strategic importance for national defense.
But its terrain has long worked against it. High mountains, steep gradients and narrow valleys have left the road network, including national highways, far below the standards needed to support trade and investment.
The region’s tourism potential, boosted by its proximity to the popular resort town of Sa Pa, remains largely untapped. The expressway would directly address that bottleneck, linking the northwest to Hanoi and the northern coastal economic centers for the first time by high-speed road.
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