A US$3.7 billion expressway connecting Hanoi and Vientiane will be constructed and put into use by 2025, Vietnam and Laos’ transport ministries announced on Thursday at a meeting in the north-central Vietnamese city of Vinh.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and Laos’ Ministry of Public Works and Transport attended the meeting in Vinh to discuss a plan for an expressway that would connect the two countries’ capitals.

The 725-kilometer, six-lane expressway, estimated to cost over $3.7 billion in total investment, is set to be funded by official development assistance (ODA) from Japan.

As sections of the expressway in Vietnam have already been constructed, around $3.1 billion of the total investment will be used to build the 381 kilometers of the road that runs in Laos’ territory.

Upon completion, the expressway will connect Vientiane and Hanoi, traversing Paksan City in the central Laotian province of Bolikhamsai and Vietnam’s Thanh Thuy Border Gate in the north-central province of Nghe An.

In the first phase of the project, four lanes will be built, while the entire six lanes are expected to be completed sometime between 2020 and 2025.

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