Breakthrough in transport infrastructure for sustainable development

At the end of 2022, Quang Ninh will put the Van Don - Mong Cai expressway into operation, completing the expressway axis along the province, connecting the country's northernmost city of Mong Cai with the capital Hanoi. This is also the time when Quang Ninh officially owns a diversified and synchronized transportation system with an airport, international port and expressway along the province, becoming the province with the fastest developing transport infrastructure in the country.

Continuously extending the traffic "blood vessels"

On September 1, 2022, Quang Ninh inaugurated the Van Don - Mong Cai expressway, officially completing the 176km long provincial expressway axis.

The 2020-2025 term is an important milestone for the people of Quang Ninh because not only does the province turn 60 years old, but it is also the period when the province completes synchronous transport infrastructure after nearly 8 years of efforts, becoming the province with the fastest transport infrastructure development in the country, a new record for the transport industry.

Looking back at the early 21st century, along with Hanoi and Hai Phong, Quang Ninh was identified by the central government as a peak of the Northern economic triangle. However, those who had been to and lived in Quang Ninh at that time knew that Quang Ninh's transport infrastructure was quite simple and rudimentary. Although Quang Ninh was a peak of the Northern economic triangle, it was located far from the capital Hanoi, so it was not a priority locality for central investment. This has constrained and limited the province's development opportunities despite possessing the most potential in the country.

The idea that “Traffic is the lifeblood of an organization. Good traffic makes everything easy. Bad traffic makes everything stagnant” according to the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh during his lifetime, has been in the thinking and wishes of many generations of provincial leaders through the ages. However, to have “good traffic”, traffic goes first to pave the way in the context of limited budget resources, Quang Ninh has had to find its own path with bold, unique ideas, using public investment as seed capital, leading and activating all social resources towards development goals.

The provincial highway axis is considered the "blood vessel" of development, connecting the political, economic, cultural and tourist centers of the province and the region, opening a new gateway connecting ASEAN with China.

Thinking and doing in a very short time, in 2012, the province boldly proposed to the Government to build its own highway, international airport and dedicated seaport with convincing arguments, proving financial resources and was approved by the Government. An unprecedented precedent in the Vietnamese transport industry as this is a project invested by the Government.

In 2014, a series of key transport projects were launched, with the first being the Ha Long - Hai Phong Expressway - the province's first road expressway. And just two years later, Van Don International Airport and Ha Long Specialized Passenger Port, representing the gateway to the sky and the gateway to the ocean, were invested in synchronously, along with modern, classy landscape values, overall interconnection with the road expressway axis.

During the investment implementation process, the province faced many difficulties, from finding capital sources to design techniques, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, price fluctuations... However, the province has gradually and effectively resolved these obstacles.

Van Don International Airport is the first private airport in Vietnam, welcoming international flights after only 5 months of operation.

On September 1, 2022, in the atmosphere of the whole country striving to compete, achieve achievements, celebrate the 77th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2, Quang Ninh held the inauguration ceremony of the Van Don - Mong Cai expressway, the last section of the expressway chain along the province with a length of 176km, officially completing all 3 traffic gateways connecting to the region and the world after 8 years of efforts. Impressively, the projects put into operation by Quang Ninh have soon brought into play their effectiveness after investment when the number of tourists to the homeland's Mong Cai increased to a record at the time the expressway was completed, international flights to Quang Ninh after only 5 months of operation and Ha Long passenger port is the meeting place of the world's most classy cruise ships.

The dynamic transport projects completed in the first half of this term have made Quang Ninh the province with the most diverse, synchronous and fastest development of transport infrastructure in the country in all three types: road, air and sea. The projects are connected and linked to the economic - cultural - tourism centers of the province, forming a comprehensive and seamless connection chain, shortening distance and time, expanding development space; opening up and promoting the potential of dynamic areas, creating a prosperous Quang Ninh, an important growth pole of the Northern region of Vietnam.

Regional Link Center

During his visit and work in Quang Ninh in April 2022, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: "With its important position, Quang Ninh needs to strongly promote regional connectivity to exploit its competitive advantages". What the General Secretary was concerned about was clearly identified by Quang Ninh in the Resolution of the 15th Provincial Party Congress: Persistently implementing the organization of the development space of "one center, two multi-dimensional routes and two breakthroughs" to ensure the goal of connectivity and synchronization to promote the strengths of each locality in the province as well as the strengths of the province in the Red River Delta and the Northern Key Economic Zone.

Leaders of Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen provinces and Hai Phong city signed the Economic Connection Agreement of the Eastern Expressway Axis.

In less than 2 years of implementing the spirit of the Resolution and the wishes of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Quang Ninh has completed the 176km long provincial expressway, connecting the Hanoi - Hai Phong and Hanoi - Lao Cai expressways, forming the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Mong Cai expressway axis with a length of nearly 600km, accounting for 60% of the total km of expressways in Vietnam, the best connecting traffic infrastructure in the North at that time. In parallel with the completion of the main traffic route, the expressway, the province has deployed many other connecting traffic projects to form a regional linkage chain such as the road connecting Lang Son, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and Hai Phong... which are projects formed on the basis of cooperation, coordination and joint investment to spread benefits. Quang Ninh is ready to share airports and seaports with Lang Son, Bac Giang through new connecting routes, share expressways with the Red River Delta to reach the market of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people faster. Quang Ninh's projects are the conditions and premises for the Government to create a dynamic northern traffic corridor by linking the eastern expressway axis.

Specifically, in July 2022, the four localities of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Hung Yen jointly signed an agreement on economic connectivity of the Eastern Expressway axis based on the nearly 300km long Hanoi - Mong Cai Expressway axis, of which Quang Ninh contributed nearly 2/3 of the route length with a 176km long expressway system along the province. This expressway axis also connects a series of industrial parks, urban areas... connecting 3 international airports (Noi Bai, Cat Bi, Van Don) and a system of international seaports, creating an area with a total natural area 3 times larger than Hanoi, 5 times larger than Ho Chi Minh City and 8 times larger than Da Nang City.

Ben Rung Bridge, a joint investment project, contributes to strengthening regional connectivity between Quang Ninh and Hai Phong.

This chain will help provinces break down barriers to development, enhance their position in the region and the country, strongly impact trade, freight transport, tourism development, investment attraction, job creation for people... Shortening traffic distances contributes to reducing transportation costs, reducing investment costs, increasing profits for businesses, promoting economic development. At the same time, becoming a transit point, a logistics center of the region and the country; directly participating in the coastal highway of the Northern Coast, the Red River Delta, making Quang Ninh a traffic gateway of the Northern economic region, connecting ASEAN trade with China.

The advantage is resonated when the transport infrastructure is developed, in which Quang Ninh is one of the leading localities in terms of development speed and completion of a synchronous, modern, interconnected and comprehensive socio-economic infrastructure system. This contributes to promoting regional connectivity, territorial cooperation, creating new development corridors and spaces, calculated and considered with landscape construction - architectural works bearing the local identity and is also an important mark of the last half term.

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