Trucks line up for customs clearance at Kim Thành International Border Gate No 2. — VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Khánh

LÀO CAI — Vehicles passing through Lào Cai-Hekou International Border Gate will be banned starting next year, according to Lào Cai economic zone authority in Lào Cai Province.

The ban, which will take effect 0:00 on January 1, 2020, was announced by the provincial People's Committee and agencies following the notice by Chinese authority of the Hekou border gate (in the south of Yunnan Province) as they will begin dismantling and rebuilding Nanxi River border gate control station.

Nanxi is known in Việt Nam as the Nậm Thi, a border river between Lào Cai, Việt Nam and Hekou, China.

Only people and tourists will be allowed to travel through the border gate.

All cargo vehicles through Lào Cai-Hekou border gate will be transferred to Kim Thành International Border Gate No 2 to ensure normal trading, Lào Cai economic zone authority said.

The authority also requests forces at the border gate and relevant agencies to inform border residents about the ban.

According to vice chairman of the Lào Cai People’s Committee Lê Ngọc Hưng, export-import revenues through Lào Cai-Hekou border gates report an average growth of nearly 20 per cent per year, while the flow of tourists through their border gates rises over 21 per cent annually. — VNS