A new road in Vietnam’s Gia Lai province is shortening journeys for residents of remote Krong commune by nearly 11 kilometres, making it easier for farmers to transport produce to market and buy supplies.
The approximately 31-kilometre route, linking Krong with Truong Son Dong Road, is already in use and more than 99% complete.
Contractors are finishing outstanding work, including road markings and traffic signs.
Financed by central government funds, the project has a total investment of more than VND135 billion (approximately US$5.2 million). Construction is being carried out during the 2024–2026 period.
For Đinh Yơn, a 49-year-old Bahnar farmer in Hro village, the road has eased journeys that previously took considerable time and money during the harvest season. His family grows coffee, macadamia nuts and corn on nearly two hectares of land.
Yơn said travelling to Kbang commune was now much more convenient, particularly when buying farming supplies or taking agricultural produce to market. The new route removes a detour of nearly 11 kilometres.
Previously, residents travelling between the centres of Krong and Kbang communes faced damaged sections of provincial road DT 669B, which became muddy and difficult to negotiate during the rainy season.
An alternative route ran from Krong to the Cay Da intersection, then followed East Truong Son Road through Son Lang commune. That journey was more than 11 kilometres longer and crossed several steep mountain passes.
Residents of Pngăl, Sơ Lam, Tăng Lăng, Hro and Đăk Bok villages are among those benefiting from the new connection.
Hoàng Văn Nghị, secretary of Hro village’s Party cell, said improved transport had created better conditions for residents to develop their livelihoods. The village has 278 households, most of them Bahnar.
Village leaders plan to encourage residents to seek preferential loans, choose suitable crops and convert low-yield farmland to more productive uses. They also aim to establish stable production models to improve yields and incomes.
The road project was approved on June 17, 2021, under Resolution No. 398/NQ-HĐND of the then Gia Lai Provincial People’s Council. Located in the former Kbang district, it was designed to improve transport infrastructure, strengthen connections and support local economic and social development.
The road has a 6.5-metre-wide roadbed and a five-metre-wide carriageway, along with drainage, traffic safety features and a concrete bridge over the Ba River. Construction was organised to allow residents to use the route while work continued.
Commune authorities also plan to use the improved connection to support village landscaping and rural development efforts.
Nguyễn Công Đạo, secretary of the Krong Commune Party Committee, said villages would be encouraged to plant flowers along roads and establish community-managed road schemes.
Residents would also be urged to maintain greenery, keep roadsides clean and protect infrastructure.
Đạo said community participation would help the road serve travel and farming needs while supporting efforts to improve village living conditions and meet new-style rural development criteria.
