Laos Signs Feasibility Agreement for Two New Expressway Sections to Chinese Border

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The government of Laos and China’s Hunan Banying Industrial Group have signed a feasibility agreement to study and design two new sections of the Vientiane-Boten Expressway, pushing the country’s 440-km highway corridor closer to the Chinese border by 2030.

Signed on 27 April, the agreement covers Section 2, running from Vang Vieng district in Vientiane Province to Luang Prabang, and Section 3, from Luang Prabang to Oudomxay Province. It was concluded between the Investment Promotion and Management Committee on behalf of the Lao government and China’s Hunan Banying Industrial Group, which will serve as contractor for both sections.

The two sections are part of a broader 440-km expressway stretching from Vientiane northward to Boten on the Chinese border in Luang Namtha Province, which neighbours Oudomxay. The project builds on the success of Section 1, the 113.5-km Vientiane-Vang Vieng Expressway, Laos’ first, which opened in December 2020. 

Sections 2 and 3 will drive the route further through the challenging mountainous terrain of northern Laos, before the final section carries it from Oudomxay to Boten on the Chinese border in Luang Namtha Province.

Hunan Banying Industrial Group, headquartered in Changsha, Hunan Province, operates across infrastructure development, energy and mining, metallurgy, heavy machinery manufacturing, and new energy projects.

Construction timelines and cost estimates for Sections 2 and 3 will follow once the feasibility study concludes.

Once complete, the expressway will complement the existing Laos-China Railway, forming a key land corridor running the length of the country.

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