In the planning orientation of the Northern Midlands and Mountains region, the consulting unit proposed investing in the expressway connecting Hoa Binh - Thanh Hoa and the Lang Son - Tien Yen expressway.
The Northern midlands and mountains are particularly important in terms of politics, economy, society and national defense. This area also plays a decisive role in the energy source, water source and ecological environment of the entire Northern region.
At the Conference on Planning Opinions for the Northern Midlands and Mountains for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 on the afternoon of December 1, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung called this a "fence" area with more than 9,500 hectares, bordering two provinces of China. He assessed that the planning, when completed, will "pave the way" and create development drivers for the region, specifically reflected in each locality.
A representative of EnCity International Consulting Joint Stock Company, a regional planning consultancy, said that the Northern Midlands and Mountains are facing many challenges related to fragmented terrain and poor traffic connections.
Travel time within the region and from this region to economic centers is still large, and border gate connections are difficult. For example, to get to Hanoi, the average travel time is over 6 hours, of which the Northwest region (including Dien Bien, Son La, Lai Chau) is the slowest. The maximum travel speed in the East-West direction is only 30-40 km per hour.
Therefore, this unit has proposed some orientations for infrastructure development planning for this area in the planning.
Before 2030, the consulting unit proposed prioritizing investment in the North-South expressway, opening more access to the sea. For example, continuing to improve the routes connecting border gates and radial connections. Investing in the North-South expressway connecting Hoa Binh - Thanh Hoa; National Highway 16 connecting Thanh Hoa and the North Central region.
The government and localities also need to prioritize upgrading and connecting Ring Road 1 (National Highway 4) and Ring Road 3 (National Highway 37) to speed up East-West connectivity; Upgrading and investing in Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Na San, and Sa Pa airports.
This unit also proposed adding a high-speed route (80 km/h) connecting Hoa Binh to Ninh Binh, to increase connectivity with North-South routes.
After 2030, the Government and localities should focus on East-West connectivity, such as researching additional investment in the Son La - Yen Bai expressway (along National Highway 37) - the goal is to save more than 1 hour of travel time from the agricultural capital of Son La and the western sub-region to the port as well as linking the Dien Bien - Son La - Yen Bai tourism chain; building the Lang Son - Tien Yen expressway to open more access to the sea.
Regarding the general infrastructure planning, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that more attention should be paid to infrastructure connection with China. He said that the Northern midlands and mountainous region must take advantage of its proximity to China.
According to him, it is necessary to strengthen connections with China to create momentum for development for the whole region as well as other localities in the lowlands. "The vision must be broader, especially connecting with China, then the northern mountainous region can develop," the Minister commented.
Regarding the proposal to invest in a highway connecting Hoa Binh - Thanh Hoa, the Minister said it is worth paying attention to because it is a solution to connect this region with Nghi Son seaport.
"When formed, the routes will quickly connect remote mountainous provinces with coastal areas, airports, ports and important border gates," the Minister said.
In addition to infrastructure issues, the planning of the Northern Midlands and Mountains region has proposed to divide into sub-regions to create closely linked areas with the ability to effectively share infrastructure. Accordingly, the region is divided into 4 sub-regions, 6 economic corridors, 3 belts and a system of growth poles, centers linked to sub-regions and regions.
Sub-region 1 is a green growth area associated with sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism and clean energy with Hoa Binh as the growth pole and Son La as the center for agricultural processing and social services.
Sub-region 2 will be a large-scale tourist area, a hub for economic and cultural exchange with Yunnan and the southwestern provinces of China, with two growth poles in Lao Cai and Phu Tho.
Sub-region 3 - Thai Nguyen, will be the industrial, educational and medical center of the whole region, as well as a place to preserve history with the potential to develop tourism back to the source.
Sub-region 4, including Lang Son and Bac Giang, will be a place of great growth, an industrial center of the region, and will have the most important international border gate with the role of connecting economic and cultural trade with Guangxi and the southern provinces of China. Bac Giang is also proposed to be built into the semiconductor industrial center of the region and one of the semiconductor industrial centers of the whole country.
Duc Minh
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