Therefore, the investment in the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway opens up expectations for a new growth engine for Điện Biên. At this time, the entire political system and the people of the province are demonstrating high determination, ready to launch the project.

Actively and proactively implementing the project

According to the planning, the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway (phase 1) has a length of about 48.3km. The starting point is at the boundary between Sơn La and Điện Biên provinces, connecting with the CT.03 expressway passing through Sơn La province; the ending point is at the IC5 intersection, Km48+300, connecting with Mường Thanh ward.

The route is designed according to expressway standards with a speed of 80km/h, a complete 4-lane scale, a 22-meter wide roadbed, along with a synchronous system of bridges, tunnels, and intersections. The total investment of the project is over VND 23,252 billion, of which the central budget supports VND 21,828 billion, and the rest is from the local budget. The project is implemented in the 2026 - 2030 period, comprising two component projects: compensation, support, resettlement, and site clearance; and the construction investment of the mainline.

Not merely a transport project, the expressway is identified as a particularly important link in completing the Hà Nội - Hòa Bình - Sơn La - Điện Biên expressway axis. Upon completion, it will form a seamless connection from the center of the Capital to the Northwestern border region, contributing to synchronizing regional transport infrastructure, significantly shortening travel time, reducing logistics costs, and enhancing competitiveness in attracting investment and local economic development.

For Điện Biên, this is an opportunity to break the “far from the center” isolation, expanding new development space for commerce, tourism, services, and the border gate economy. For many years, the transportation issue has always been considered the biggest “bottleneck” hindering the province’s development process. Therefore, the preparation for the expressway’s implementation is creating great expectations among local cadres and people.

Right after being assigned by the provincial People’s Committee as the investor of the two component projects of the expressway, the provincial Project Management Board of Transport Works quickly established a Steering Committee for the expressway project implementation, assigning specific tasks to each member. The Board organized meetings with the relevant commune People’s Committees to deploy key tasks before implementing the project.

Nguyễn Minh Tuân, Director of the provincial Project Management Board of Transport Works, stated that the Board identifies this as a key task and a particularly important political task in the 2026 - 2030 period. In that spirit, the Board is highly determined and coordinates closely with departments, branches, and localities to synchronously implement the project’s contents.

Based on the pre-feasibility study report and actual survey results, the Project Management Board has coordinated with communes and wards to agree on the construction locations of resettlement areas and sites, while reviewing and determining the number of households subject to resettlement arrangements. The formulation of the overall site planning for resettlement areas is being urgently deployed in conjunction with dissemination and mobilization of the people to create consensus during the implementation process.

It is expected that the entire route will feature six resettlement sites with a scale of 3 to 5 hectares per site, specifically in Mường Lạn, Mường Phăng, and Mường Ảng communes, with two sites each. The total site clearance area of the project is about 776.29 hectares, and it is estimated that 276 households will be affected. This includes 111 households in Mường Lạn, 48 households in Mường Ảng, 96 households in Mường Phăng, 15 households in Điện Biên Phủ ward, and 6 households in Mường Thanh ward.

For the component project of investing in the construction of the mainline, the Transport Project Management Board focuses on carrying out investment preparation procedures and selecting consulting contractors to deploy the basic design early. It also coordinates with localities to review contents related to the environment, waste dumps, material mines, affected forest areas, resources, and the biosphere to complete procedures for changing forest use purposes and to prepare environmental impact assessment reports for both component projects.

With a large workload, high technical requirements, and tight timeframes, a proactive and drastic spirit is clearly demonstrated in all preparation stages to commence the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway project.

Consensus from the grassroots level

In Mường Lạn commune, where the expressway passes through with a length of nearly 17km, the atmosphere of preparation for the project is vibrant. Local Party committees and authorities coordinate closely with the investor to organize many dissemination and mobilization sessions for villages and households expected to be affected.

In public meetings, the commune authorities focus on providing information about the investment policy and the project’s significance for the socio-economic development of the province and locality, combining this with mobilizing the people’s consensus on site clearance and resettlement. Thanks to good mass mobilization work, the project has so far received active support from the people. In particular, Mường Lạn commune has handed over the site to deploy resettlement site No.1 in Món Hà village.

Nguyễn Thế Trung, Chairman of the Mường Lạn commune People’s Committee, noted that for the project to be deployed smoothly, the locality determined it must create consensus among the people. Therefore, the commune steps up dissemination, helping the people clearly understand the significance and importance of the expressway for local and provincial development. With the motto “the Party committee goes first, the government gets involved, the Fatherland Front and mass organizations accompany,” the entire political system has directly gone to the grassroots level, to each village and each household to disseminate, listen to their thoughts, and explain policies related to site clearance and resettlement. To date, the majority of the people agree with and support the policy of implementing the project, creating favorable conditions for subsequent tasks.

According to the plan, the groundbreaking ceremony for component project 1 regarding compensation, support, resettlement, and site clearance will be held in Món Hà village. Therefore, reviewing the site, planning the resettlement area, and sprucing up the area for the groundbreaking ceremony are being urgently deployed.

Tòng Văn Tâm, Secretary of the Món Hà village Party Cell, shared that the people are very excited as the expressway project is about to be implemented. This is a project of great significance to local development, so the residents all agree and are ready to hand over the site so that the project can be carried out smoothly.

In Mường Phăng commune, where the project passes through 11 villages with 44 households needing to be relocated, the dissemination and mobilization work is receiving high consensus from the people.

In Khẩu Cắm village, all 7 households subject to relocation have agreed on the policy and consented to the resettlement plan. Lò Văn Thư, a resident of Khẩu Cắm village, shared that the people are highly supportive of the expressway project. When the road is completed, traveling will be more convenient, opening up more economic development opportunities for the people.

According to Trần Văn Tuấn, Chairman of the Mường Phăng Commune People’s Committee, the locality focuses on disseminating and mobilizing the people to agree to implement the project and strengthens land management within the planning scope. They aim to prevent any illegal land use conversion, transfer, or splitting, ensuring favorable conditions for the project implementation process.

With the determination of the entire political system and the high consensus of the people, Điện Biên is ready to launch and deploy the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway project. A strategic route is being launched not only with machinery, equipment, or investment figures of tens of trillions of dong but also with the development aspirations of a whole region in the far West of the Fatherland.