Clearing the mountain veins, bringing Ba Be closer to the city
“In the past, it took us nearly two hours to get from the city to Ba Be Lake on a steep and winding mountain pass. Now it takes less than an hour by car, or even just 30 minutes. No one thought it would be so convenient!” - Mr. Hua Van Trinh, a resident of Pac Ngoi village (Ba Be) smiled happily when he got to travel on the new, spacious roads.
Three key transport projects – including the Bac Kan City – Ba Be Lake route (connecting to Na Hang – Tuyen Quang), the Quang Khe – Khang Ninh route and the infrastructure system around Ba Be Lake – have a total investment of over 4,700 billion VND. These are not only infrastructure projects, but also a strategy to connect regional development space, bringing Ba Be eco-tourism out of the “beautiful but difficult to reach” situation, helping people in remote areas shorten the socio-economic gap with the center.
Where hardship tests determination
From the groundbreaking day, November 25, 2021, challenges were presented: rugged mountainous terrain, natural forests that needed to be converted to other uses, harsh weather with prolonged rains and floods. Typhoon Yagi once caused the road to lose up to 60 billion VND, delaying progress for months. Many sections passed through forests and cliffs, and construction could not use large machinery but had to use human power to gradually dig mountains, install embankments, and pour foundations.
In particular, the 37km Bac Kan - Ba Be route has many sections passing through natural forest areas, so the construction requires careful design to minimize impacts on the landscape and environment. New construction solutions such as MSE technology retaining walls are applied for the first time in Bac Kan to handle locations with complex terrain, helping to shorten time, reduce costs, and protect the environment.
Not only the terrain and climate, the difficulty also comes from the lack of construction materials. Because the stone and sand quarries in the province are small in scale, many contractors have to transport materials from other provinces, leading to increased costs and passive construction.
Mr. Ngo Thanh Quy, Director of Thanh Quy LLC, one of the contractors participating in the construction of the most difficult items of the route, said: “Constructing large bridges on the route such as Phieng Phung Bridge, Khuoi Lo Bridge and road sections in places with difficult terrain, landslides and extremely large amounts of soil and rock. We had to make a lot of efforts, arrange good engineers, encourage our colleagues to overcome difficulties to find the most optimal solution for implementation, even report to the investor to allow adjustment of the design and construction plan for difficult items that cannot be implemented according to the original plan, determined to speed up the progress to the finish line according to plan”.
Directing throughout , resolving at the construction site
Faced with these challenges, for the first time, Bac Kan established a Steering Committee for key provincial traffic projects, headed by the Provincial Party Secretary, who regularly directly inspected, grasped the implementation situation, and resolved problems right at the scene. Unexpected meetings at night and urgent inspection trips by provincial leaders inspired and spread the determination to complete the projects, helping to speed up the progress.
Not only did the province participate, the projects also received special attention from the Central Government. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha directly inspected the construction site of the Bac Kan City - Ba Be Lake route. The Prime Minister emphasized: "Let's do it, not back down; what we say is what we do; what we do must be done." That strong message added determination to the entire team of engineers and workers who are sticking to the construction site day and night, considering construction as a mission, not just a contract.
Workers work through the night, despite the cold
Recalling more than a year ago, on the construction site during the cold days, especially in the hut area deep in the old forest of Don Phong, the temperature in the early morning and at night sometimes dropped to 2-3 degrees Celsius, the mechanics and drivers still regularly divided into shifts, working through the night to keep up with the progress. "It was raining and the cold was biting, but we still continued to work, because this is not only a project of the province but also a source of pride for contributing to changing our homeland", shared Mr. Do Huu Duan, Commander of the Khuoi Lo bridge project.
The construction units also flexibly supported overtime, took care of every night meal, every bottle of water, every safe resting place in the mountains and forests to keep the workers' strength. Those images, though small, are clear evidence of the spirit of unity in overcoming difficulties for the common goal.
Now that the three routes have been completed and put into use, the appearance of Ba Be Lake is changing day by day. New houses are springing up along the route, tourism services are flourishing, trade is bustling, people travel conveniently, time is shortened by half, and costs are significantly reduced.
This is not only an opportunity for Bac Kan tourism but also an important "link" in regional connectivity: From Ba Be Lake connecting to Na Hang Hydroelectric Lake (Tuyen Quang), connecting to Nui Coc Lake (Thai Nguyen), Ban Gioc Waterfall (Cao Bang), forming an inter-provincial - inter-regional eco-tourism axis.
Phase 2 of the Bac Kan City – Na Hang route is also being rapidly implemented, expected to be completed in 2025. In parallel, the Cho Moi – Bac Kan City expressway has been started, and recently, the Government has also allowed to adjust the investment process of the Bac Kan – Cao Bang expressway to before 2030. A future of development is becoming clearer every day.
Mr. Dinh Quang Tuyen, Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed: "These three routes are the result of countless efforts and solidarity from the province to the grassroots, from management agencies, construction units to the consensus of the people. These are not only technical routes, but also strategic routes for socio-economic development, tourism and social security of the province... The completion of these routes today not only opens up opportunities, but also poses a great responsibility to local authorities and people. in effectively exploiting, preserving works and developing sustainable socio-economy associated with environmental protection".
Closing the journey, opening the future
From a mountainous province with limited infrastructure, Bac Kan is making a breakthrough to become a bright spot in the Northern midland and mountainous region. It is no coincidence that Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Bac Kan Traffic Project Management Board, calls these roads “a symbol of the province’s will to overcome difficulties and aspirations to rise up”.
Three routes, three development connections, not only mark the result of a journey of persistent investment but also open up a new path for the economy, tourism, and people's lives. From Bac Kan city to Ba Be lake, from village to urban area, from present to future. That road has been connected with all the faith, effort, intelligence and love for the homeland./.
Source: https://baobackan.vn/ba-tuyen-duong-chung-mot-khat-vong-huong-toi-tuong-lai-post70336.html
![[Photo] Vietnam and Sri Lanka sign cooperation agreements in many important fields](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/5/5/9d5c9d2cb45e413c91a4b4067947b8c8)
Comment (0)