Dong Ha – Cua Viet connection enhances urban economic development

With a long coastline, Quang Tri has the advantage of optimizing the socio-economic growth in the province. Based on its natural gifts, Quang Tri has developed the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone and the coastal service-tourism route.

The provincial authorities have upgraded its local transportation network, connecting vital locations such as the Cua Viet Seaport, the Cua Viet-Cua Tung-Vinh Moc tourist attractions, and Lao Bao and La Lay international border gates through national highways 9, 9D and 4C.

Quang Tri has a 75km-long coastline with two big estuaries, Cua Tung and Cua Viet, providing a rich marine ecosystem with highly valued seafood and large fisheries. There are also beautiful beaches, such as Cua Tung, Cua Viet, and My Thuy qualified for developing beach resorts. Moreover, the Cua Viet Seaport and Con Co Island provide abundant potential for promoting trade, services, and sea travel.

The National Highway 9 connects Dong Ha City and Cua Viet Town. Photo: Nguyen Kha

The coastal area of Hai Lang District has favorable conditions for developing a large-scale seaport with a depth of up to 13m and the capability of receiving ships of 100,000 tons. The important discovery of potential gas wells at blocks 112 and 113 on the Vietnamese continent shelf, 130km from the coast of Quang Tri, opens up the opportunity for offshore gas industries.

In particular, the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone, with multi-industries development, including agriculture-forestry-fishery processing industry, tourism, trade, and services, is expected to be an economic breakout for the province, enhancing its position in the North Central region.

The Government has made substantial investments to upgrade roads and railways in the province as vital infrastructure. Along with open policies, Quang Tri authorities expect to make breakthroughs in socio-economic growth and better link cities and districts across the province, especially the connectivity between Cua Viet Town and the province’s capital, Dong Ha.

Regarding sea and coastal travel, the Quang Tri autorities have recently approved a master plan to build a Cua Viet tourist service site on an area of 141 hectares. Until now, the province has comprehensively upgraded the local infrastructure with the Cua Viet-Cua Tung coastline road reaching Dong Ha City, thus allowing the coastal area to join activities along the East-West Economic Corridor.

Cua Viet is considered one of the most attractive locations for tourists from Northeast Asia. The sea, the islands, and cultural and historical relics alongside the national highways 1 and 9 are also attractive to European and American travelers as they seek to visit the used-to-be battlefields and enjoy peaceful vacations.

In 2030, Quang Tri targets to turn Cua Viet into a tier-5 city by merging Cua Viet Town with Gio Hai Commune and Bo Ban Town. By 2050, Cua Viet City is expected to reach tier-4 standards and facilitate the growth of coastal tourist sites and urban areas.

There are still a lot of agricultural lands, forestry lands, and unused lands in Cua Viet. The town has the potential and advantages to become a bustling urban area with a higher ranking in the future.

Cua Viet beach, a popular tourist site in Quang Tri Province. Photo: Nguyen Kha

In addition, Quang Tri expects local seaports to raise trade activities, attract investments, and provide supplies for industrial parks. Therefore, the province plans to expand the Cua Viet Seaport to the northern side of the Cua Viet Bridge, which connects the banks of the historical Thach Han River.

Accordingly, Cua Viet Seaport by 2030 is designed to comprise four general terminals (in the north) with a length of 327m each and five specialized terminals (in the south) with a length of 510m each. Therefore, Cua Viet is oriented to develop into a tourism, cultural, and social service center, and a coastal resort urban area associated with the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone.

The upper hand of Dong Ha-Cua Viet link

Urban areas in Quang Tri are developing in width but not in depth. Therefore, the idea of connecting Dong Ha and Cua Viet urban areas represents a strategic vision for the overall development of regional connectivity. Investment in technical infrastructure in Cua Viet as a basis to upgrade the town to a tier-4 city is a long-term development orientation. From there, the goal is to develop urban areas to improve the quality of the living environment and create the stimulus for socio-economic development activities and infrastructures that are modern, friendly to the environment, and friendly to people.

Once becoming the endpoint of the East-West Economic Corridor and the expanded Mekong sub-region, Cua Viet will be the gateway to the East Sea, create favorable conditions for socio-economic development, and connect Vietnam with neighboring countries for mutual prosperous growth. In particular, the commencement of phase 1 of the coastal road will connect the province with the East-West Economic Corridor. Together with the National Highway 1 and the North-South Expressway, the coastal road will create an interprovincial transportation system that facilitates the province’s growth, especially the sea economy, Dong Ha City, the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone, and the East-West Economic Corridor.

Cua Viet is a tourism–service and marine industrial urban area with the main role of boosting trade and service associated with exploiting the strengths of the seaport, aiming to become one of the major sea tourism centers in the Central Region. Therefore, investment in technical infrastructure at the coastal urban level to be commensurate with Dong Ha is extremely necessary to completely connect these two places into a development complex, by which they can provide mutual support on the journey of building Quang Tri towards prosperity.

Nguyen Kha – Huy Anh