ADB has worked out a core pipeline of projects for 2022–2024 that uses more responsive financing modalities and considers Viet Nam’s priorities for medium- and long-term post-pandemic recovery.
This report compares the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with other free trade agreements and suggests how policy makers can promote its successful implementation.
The Friendship bridge built with Australian funding and completed and opened in 1994, crossing the Mekong River and connecting Thailand to Laos. Photo by Jim Holmes / AusAID via Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
The fifth friendship bridge between the Lao People‘s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Thailand is set to further enhance Lao PDR’s connectivity with its neighbors in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It will link Borikhamxay province (Lao PDR) to Bueng Kan province (Thailand), becoming a vital road link between Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Spanning over 150km, it promises to be the shortest connecting link between the three countries and opens another regional trade and transit route.
A feasibility study will be undertaken for the construction of an expressway from Houaphanh, a province in eastern Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), to its border with Viet Nam, reported the Vientiane Times. The project is part of a larger expressway construction project linking Houaphanh with the Lao PDR capital of Vientiane.
Workers take a ride on a truck after their shift at a factory in Cambodia. Photo by ADB.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an $82 million loan to improve about 48 kilometers of national and provincial roads in Prey Veng and Kandal to boost economic development along the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Southern Economic Corridor.
The Governments of Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam inaugurated the Dakta Ok (Se Kong, Lao PDR) – Nam Giang (Quang Nam, Viet Nam) border gates on 14 August 2021, which were upgraded to international status this year. This new international cross-border point is expected to further boost bilateral trade, investment, and tourism, and promote opportunities for cooperation between Viet Nam’s central key economic zone and Lao PDR’s south-central region, as well as Thailand’s southeast region.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien, Viet Nam’s Minister of Industry and Trade, requested support from Mr. Lu Xinshe, Party Secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (GZAR, PRC), to facilitate cross-border trade between Viet Nam and the PRC by (i) upgrading border gates, (ii) restoring customs services at sealed off border gates, and (iii) extending the operating hours of customs clearance services at border gates, border crossings, and markets.
Meeting photo via Viet Nam Plus
The second Mekong-U.S. Partnership Ministerial Meeting held on 2 August 2021 unveiled four flagship projects under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, and noted the 8.5 million vaccine doses and over $58 million in U.S. COVID-19 assistance to the Mekong subregion countries.
Chu Lai Port serves the needs of import and export goods for businesses in Viet Nam's Central region. Photo by THACO, THILOGI's logistics company.
Chu Lai Port aims to become a major international freight forwarding hub for import and export of goods in Viet Nam’s central and Central Highlands regions. The Trường Hải International Logistics Limited Liability Company, operator of Chu Lai Port, has expanded the port's scale and upgraded its entire service chain to achieve this target. The port has linkages to coastal roads, highways, and large industrial clusters and offers accessibility to the East-West economic corridor.
On the road from Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo by Clay Gilliland/ Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
A $97.9 million upgrade for Viet Nam’s National Highway 62 has been proposed to Viet Nam's Ministry of Transport. The renovation work will include road repairs and road widening of specific portions from nine to eleven meters to reduce the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, to Cambodia. The project is proposed to start in 2021 with scheduled completion by 2023.
The highway connects Vietnam’s highways No.1, N2 and the HCMC-Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway. All three are major routes run from HCMC on through the Mekong Delta.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226
