The ceremony was attended by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and his Lao counterpart Somsavat Lengsavath.

According to the final blueprint, road 2E runs from the Tay Trang - Panghok international bordergate pair to Muong Khoa town in Phongsaly province in Laos, with a total length of more than 68km. The project, which uses the Vietnamese Government’s preferential loans, is expected to be completed in four years.

Once completed, the road will help facilitate travel and transport of cargos, develop tourism and services and boost investment between the Vietnamese province of Dien Bien and the Lao province of Phongsaly and between northern Vietnam and northern Laos. It will also connect northern Vietnam with northern Thailand.