A project to upgrade the route linking the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to the tourist town of Sa Pa in northern Vietnam began on Saturday.

The ceremony to turn the first sod on the route was organized by the People’s Committee of Lao Cai Province, in coordination with the Ministry of Transport, in the afternoon.

The project, which is designed to link the expressway connecting Hanoi and Lao Cai with Sa Pa Town, receives the total investment of VND2.518 trillion (US$112.83 million) and will be carried out under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

In the BOT framework, the developer receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct and operate a facility for a certain period, during which it has to raise the finances for, and is entitled to retain all revenues generated by, the project.

The facility will be then transferred to the public administration at the end of the concession agreement.

The plan includes the upgrade of National Highway 4D, which is 29.2 kilometers long and connects Lao Cai City to Sa Pa, and building a four-lane route – Provincial Road 155 – that crosses the tourist town, Bat Xat District and Lao Cai City, all of which are located in Lao Cai Province.

Vehicles running on the Lao Cai-Sa Pa route will travel on National Highway 4D while those leaving the town will travel on Provincial Road 155.

Construction is expected to be complete within the first quarter of 2019.

The execution of the project is of great significance, local newswire VnExpress quoted Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as saying at the ceremony.

The complicated and mountainous geographical features of the region will require much effort and responsibility from the contractors to follow the schedule and ensure the quality and safety of their work, Deputy PM Phuc said.

Though National Highway 4D plays a significant role in the development of the northwestern region, the road is easily blocked by heavy traffic due to its relatively small size, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

The path to Sa Pa has recently become overloaded with a large number of tourists, especially during the Lunar New Year holiday, when more than 35,000 people visited the town, the news agency reported.

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