Lao Cai rural transport projects face funding and administrative delays

In Lao Cai, rural transportation development is seeing significant community support, with residents voluntarily donating land and demolishing structures to facilitate road expansion. In Dong Cuong commune, for instance, over 200 households have agreed to relocate fences and structures to allow heavy vehicles to transport agricultural products. By 2026, the commune plans to upgrade 40 rural transport routes totaling 15.8 km with an investment of nearly 20 billion VND.

Despite this local consensus, provincial-level implementation faces challenges. Statistics from the first half of 2026 show that while 47 projects covering over 344 km of rural roads were approved for investment preparation, capital disbursement remained extremely low at only 0.2% of the provincial plan by the end of May. Difficulties include insufficient capital, investment preparation hurdles, and issues with completing documentation and legal procedures.