The Vinh-Thanh Thuy expressway is a segment of the planned Hanoi-Vientiane corridor, whose route the Vietnamese and Lao governments agreed on in 2016.
For Laos, Southeast Asia's only landlocked country, the corridor promises a faster overland link to Vietnamese seaports. For Vietnam, it deepens trade, tourism and logistics ties with Laos and, beyond it, Thailand, as part of a broader east-west economic corridor. The Vietnamese leg of the corridor runs about 370 kilometers, roughly 310 of which overlaps the existing North-South Expressway.
The expressway starts at the Hung Tay interchange in Nghe An Province, linking to the Dien Chau-Bai Vot section of the eastern North-South Expressway, and ends at the Thanh Thuy-Nam On border gate on the frontier with Laos. It is planned for six lanes, with four full lanes built in the first phase and major bridges and the most difficult terrain constructed to the six-lane standard. Design speeds run from 100 to 120 kph on the main sections and 60 to 80 kph through harder terrain.
The Hung Tay interchange on the Dien Chau-Bai Vot section of the North-South Expressway, the starting point of the Vinh-Thanh Thuy expressway between Vietnam's Nghe An Province and Laos border. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Hung
