While the new 113.5 km stretch of the road is only 43 km shorter than the current national Road N13 North, it will cut travel time almost three times thanks to better road conditions. It will also include a 679-metre tunnel at Phoupha Mountain.
The design speeds on the expressway are set at 100 km per hour along the flat stretches between Sikeuth village in Vientiane and Phonhong district in Vientiane province, and at 80 km per hour between Phonhong and Vang Vieng district where there are more mountainous sections.
The construction that started last April is expected to take three years to complete. After the completion of the expressway, Road 13 will remain open for traffic free of charge while the expressway will be a toll road with a proposed fee of 550 kip per km. A trip from Vientiane to Vang Vieng will cost 62,000 kip, slightly over USD7.
Chinese investors will operate the 50-year concession project with estimated cost of USD1.2 billion with the Lao government holding five percent share.
Vientiane–Vang Vieng Expressway in Laos 40 Percent Complete
News in Asia
The expressway that will link the Lao capital of Vientiane with Vang Vieng, a populat tourism district in Vientiane province, is 40 percent complete. Can't wait to make a beeline for Vang Vieng in just a couple of hours instead of six!