Laos' Dansavanh border gate opposite Lao Bao border gate in Viet Nam's Quang Tri Province. The Prime Minister has approved an investment of US$107 million in the La Lay border area to drive economic development. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

QUANG TRI (Biz Hub) — The Prime Minister has approved the investment of US$107 million in the La Lay border area in Quang Tri Province as an impetus for economic development in the central area.

Following a decision signed by PM Nguyen Tan Dung on Monday, with the investment, the area will get a terminal zone for cargo transits, a concrete border gate, a housing system for customs and logistics services and roads, as well as water and electricity supply to support an international border gate.

The government will provide almost half of the total investment of VND2,395 billion. The remainder will come from land auctions of plots in the area and other capital sources.

Construction will begin later this year and will be completed within the 2015 - 20 period.

Lying between the central province and Laos's Salavan Province, the new La Lay border gate is expected to foster the relationship between the Vietnamese and Lao provinces and to improve border security in the area.

The border gate is also expected to facilitate transport along the East West Economic Corridor, which runs through parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Viet Nam.

By 2020, annual import and export turnover through the gate is expected to reach $460 million, and the gate will provide an added value of $13 million to the area's service and production sectors.

Earlier, the Quang Tri Province People's Committee had submitted a development proposal for the La Lay border area to the government, saying the area could be a significant trading spot between the Lao provinces of Salavan, Champasak, Sekong and Attapeu and the Thai provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen.

According to the committee, the area has served as a national gate since 1998 and already has some facilities installed, including a 120km road that leads to the area, which is located in the province's mountainous Dak Rong District, near the Dong Ha Town.

The committee's chairman, Nguyen Duc Cuong, said 16ha of land had been cleared in the area, paving the way for the construction of the gate, in accordance with the PM's decision.

Cuong said the province was luring potential investors to develop facilities in the area as well.

In Laos, authorities of Salavan Province have cleared the site for the construction work.

This will be the second border gate between the Vietnamese province and Laos. The first is the busy Lao Bao border gate, linking the province with Laos's Savannakhet Province. — VNS