Vietnam will spend $1.4bn on two ambitious motorways in its mountainous northwest.

One will be a 121km link between the provinces of Cao Bang and Lang Son on the Chinese border, World Highways reports.

The other will be a 34km expressway in Hoa Binh province south of Hanoi.

The first will cost around $980m and will have four tunnel sections and a number of bridges. The first 94km section is expected to take three years and will cost $610m. It will connect the Tan Thanh border gate with National Highway 3, which runs between Laos and Hanoi.

The 34km motorway in Hoa Binh Province will also traverse complex terrain and will require the construction of 30 bridges.

The two projects are part of a wider programme of road development in Vietnam. The government intends to build a 5,000km network of modern motorways by 2030.

This includes the $18.5bn North-South Expressway. This one is split into some 38 sub-projects with different start dates. The first began in 2019 after nine years of design, planning and site acquisition.