Ha Long-Hai Phong highway is open for traffic in early September. (Photo: VNA)Quang Ninh (VNA) – The northeasternprovince of Quang Ninh inaugurated the Ha Long-Hai Phong highway in earlySeptember, which is expected to enhance economic connectivity between the provinceand Hai Phong city, which are the two pillars of the northern economic triangle.
Being neighbours, the connection between Quang Ninhand Hai Phong has existed for a long time and spanned many fields.
Both being coastal localities, Quang Ninh and HaiPhong have advantages that supplement each other. Hai Phong is traditionally aport city and has established ties with many partners. However, it lacksdeep-water sea ports to meet the demand of sea transportation in the new developmentperiod. Quang Ninh can make up for the shortage with the Cai Lan system ofdeep-water ports and modern logistics infrastructure, which serve as the basefor cargo to be transported to Hai Phong and from there to other localities. Thanksto their connection, the two localities have enjoyed the most dynamic growth ofsea-based economy in the northern region.
Following the upgrade of the Cat Bi Airport, HaiPhong has become the second largest aviation gateway in the northern region,second only to Hanoi. Through Hai Phong, international visitors can reachfamous destinations in Quang Ninh such as the Ha Long Bay, and other destinationsalong the northern coast.
Meanwhile, Quang Ninh is connected with the largemarket of China through a system of border gates.
In addition, the World Natural Heritage site of HaLong Bay in Quang Ninh is adjacent to the Cat Ba World Biosphere Reserve in HaiPhong.
Therefore, the two localities serve as a jointtourist destination and a transit point for cargo in the Vietnam-China economiccorridor.
However, before the Ha Long-Hai Phong Highway isbuilt, the two localities were connected by only Highway 10, which, with onlytwo lanes, had been seriously overloaded with large traffic volume.
After the Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway was completed inDecember 2015, the volume of traffic surged suddenly on the route between Hanoiand Quang Ninh’s Ha Long city through Hai Phong, as Ha Long is only 25km fromHai Phong. Quang Ninh took the initiative in asking the Government forpermission to mobilise investment to build the Hai Phong-Ha Long Highway,aiming to improve transit between the two localities.
Hai Phong actively coordinated with theneighbouring province in carrying out the Hai Phong-Ha Long Highway project, particularlyin relocating residents to clear the ground for the highway.
This is the first highwayproject in Vietnam implemented by a province, using the provincial budget andcapital mobilised from the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Built at a cost of over13.6 trillion VND (581 million USD), the 25.2 km long highway connects Highway18 in Dai Yen ward of Quang Ninh province’s Ha Long city with the Hanoi-HaiPhong Highway in Hai An district of Hai Phong.
The Ha Long-Hai Phong Highway is expected tocreate breakthroughs in socio-economic development of the economic trianglecovering Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.
It will cut the distance between Hanoi and HaLong from 180km to 130km, and the Ha Long-Hai Phong route from 75km to 25km.
Both Hai Phong and QuangNinh have designed plans to optimize opportunities to be brought by the newroute. Quang Ninh has given special priority to building the Dam Nha Macindustrial-service complex in Quang Yen town, which will house industries withdemand for large sea cargo transportation. Hai Phong will assist theneighbouring province in developing sea ports and trade partners.
Over the past years, Quang Ninh has gainedimportant achievements in socio-economic development.
GrossRegional Domestic Product (GRDP) rose by 10.16 percent in the first half, andis expected to up over 11 percent this year. Per capita GRDP is 5,065 USD perperson per year, with an annual growth of 9.1 percent.
Theprovince enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 25 percent in the number oftourists in the first eight months of this year, or 9.2 million arrivals,including 3.2 foreigners.
Lastyear, Quang Ninh, for the first time ever, became the most competitive provincein the country, topping Vietnam’s PCI 2017, with 70.7 out of 100 points. Italso rose to the first place in the Public Administrative Reform (PAR) Indexwith 89.54 points.-VNA
