Quảng Trị Approves New Đakrông Bridge for Coal Transport from Laos
Quảng Trị Province has approved a new Đakrông Bridge costing VND 60 billion. A company based in Thái Nguyên Province will finance construction, with no government payment to the investor. Planned for 2026–2027, the bridge is intended to serve growing freight traffic through the La Lay border gate and ease pressure on the existing bridge.
The Quảng Trị Provincial People's Committee said on November 12 that it had approved construction of a new Đakrông Bridge in Đakrông Commune. The investor is Công ty TNHH phát triển thương mại Bắc - Nam, which is based in Thái Nguyên Province. Total investment is VND 60 billion, funded by the company's own capital and other lawful sources of financing. The project is scheduled for 2026–2027.
The project will use a BT contract under a public-private partnership arrangement that requires no government payment; the company will raise the construction funds itself. The new bridge will be about 8 metres downstream from the existing Đakrông suspension bridge, with its starting point connecting to National Highway 9. It will require no additional land. The bridge is designed to be 172.9 metres long, with five spans and two traffic lanes, and a 9-metre-wide deck. Including the approach roads at both ends, the project will extend 315 metres.
The planned new bridge will be about 8 metres downstream from the existing Đakrông suspension bridge.（VietVance）
The Quảng Trị Provincial People's Committee said freight traffic through the La Lay International Border Gate is increasing. Currently, 300 to 400 vehicle trips a day carry goods along National Highway 15D to seaports in Quảng Trị and surrounding areas. Under the implementation schedule for an agreement between the Vietnamese and Lao governments, demand for coal transport through the border gate is expected to reach 10 million tonnes a year. The new bridge will need the load capacity and traffic capacity to accommodate that volume.
The Đakrông suspension bridge, which entered service in 2002, has deteriorated. It is now subject to a speed limit of 5 km/h and weight restrictions. Trucks must cross one at a time, with barriers and personnel controlling traffic on site. The Quảng Trị Provincial People's Committee expects the new bridge to reduce traffic on the old bridge, improve conditions for transporting goods from Laos into Vietnam and help lower logistics costs.
A truck crosses the Đakrông suspension bridge in 2024.（VietVance）
Source: VietVance
