The plan to expand the Yen Bai - Lao Cai expressway worth 7,668 billion VND is gradually becoming clearer.

The Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway currently has 2 lanes for traffic, 2 emergency lanes but no median strip, the average traffic volume has exceeded 33,000 vehicles/day and night.

The Ministry of Construction has just issued Official Dispatch No. 2150/BXD - KHTC to the Government leaders regarding investment in expanding the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway.

Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assigned the Ministry of Construction to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to clarify the capital source for the project (including the capital that VEC can mobilize) to study the project investment plan.

In Official Dispatch No. 2150, the Ministry of Construction requested the Government to approve the policy of allocating capital to increase central budget revenue in 2024 to participate in project investment and assign VEC as the competent agency to implement the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section expansion investment project of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway.

Assign the Ministry of Finance to review and balance the decision on the allocation ratio of capital sources to increase central budget revenue in 2024 for the project based on principles, criteria, and balancing capacity of this capital source.

The Ministry of Finance was also recommended to direct VEC to review and specifically calculate the financial plan in case VEC mobilizes capital to invest in expanding the Noi Bai - Lao Cai, Cau Gie - Ninh Binh, Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressways, ensuring the ability to mobilize capital to invest in the above expressways; the ability to repay the Government's ODA capital, the feasibility of the financial plan of each project in particular and the 5 projects currently managed and operated by VEC; and the conformity with the plan to increase charter capital for the period 2024 - 2026 approved by competent authorities.

The Ministry of Construction requested VEC to be responsible to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance for the enterprise's investment and production business plan; the progress and quality of projects assigned for investment and construction; to be responsible for developing a specific plan to implement the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section expansion investment project to start construction in 2025; to carefully assess the disbursement capacity in 2025 to propose appropriate capital sources to increase central budget revenue in 2024.

Currently, the Cau Gie - Ninh Binh expressway has a scale of 4 lanes, the land clearance scale is 6 lanes, while the Phap Van - Cau Gie section has a scale of 6 lanes (the investor is proposing to expand to a scale of 10 - 12 lanes) and the next expressway section Cau Gie - Ninh Binh is expanding to a scale of 6 lanes, which may lead to the Cau Gie - Ninh Binh section being narrowed.

At the same time, this is a radial North-South expressway section, so it is necessary to expand the scale to meet transportation needs.

"Therefore, it is recommended that the Ministry of Finance study and balance capital allocation from the increased state budget revenue in 2024 to expand this section as proposed by the Ministry of Construction in March 2025," Official Dispatch No. 2150 of the Ministry of Construction stated.

It is known that the Road Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, has determined that the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway will be 264 km long and have 6 lanes.

Currently, the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway, 245 km long, has been invested by VEC and has been collecting tolls since 2014, of which the Noi Bai - Yen Bai section has a scale of 4 lanes; the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section has a scale of 2 lanes (the land has been cleared, the roadbed has been constructed to reach a scale of 4 lanes). The toll collection period for the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway is 27 years (expected to end in 2041).

The Noi Bai - Lao Cai route is a radial expressway, which has been in operation for over 10 years. The Yen Bai - Lao Cai route is currently operating with a scale of 2 lanes, without a median strip, so traffic capacity is limited. When the number of vehicles increases, there will be potential traffic safety risks for people and vehicles traveling on the route, especially on weekends, holidays and Tet.

According to VEC, the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section previously had a scale of 2 lanes from Km123+080 - Km244+155, about 121 km long. During the investment and exploitation process, some sections were expanded to a scale of 4 lanes, about 40 km long. Thus, the remaining scope of research and investment to expand the Yen Bai - Lao Cai expressway section is about 83 km.

Because the Noi Bai - Yen Bai section currently has a complete 4-lane expressway scale, VEC proposed to invest in expanding the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section to a 4-lane scale to exploit the scale synchronously with the Noi Bai - Yen Bai section and in accordance with the existing ground conditions, speeding up the project investment progress.

It is estimated that the total investment for the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway expansion project, Yen Bai - Lao Cai section, to a complete 4-lane scale, is about 7,668 billion VND.

In Document No. 726/VEC-TCKT dated March 21, 2025, VEC proposed the capital structure for the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway Expansion Project, Yen Bai - Lao Cai section, including: state budget capital of VND 3,055 billion (about 40% of total investment), VEC mobilized capital of VND 4,613 billion (about 60% of total investment); interest during construction (expected 9%/year) is VND 622 billion.

The toll collection period to recover the capital mobilized by VEC is about 20 years (expected to end in 2045).

According to VEC's report, VEC's capital mobilization plan for the project is calculated based on the plan to increase charter capital for the 2024 - 2026 period for VEC, which was approved by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 191/2025/QH15 dated February 19, 2025.

(According to Investment Newspaper)

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/349143/Ro-dan-phuong-an-mo-rong-cao-toc-Yen-Bai---Lao-Cai-tri-gia-7668-ty-dong.aspx