Why can't goods and vehicles clear customs through Thong Thu border gate?

Going up to Thong Thu Border Gate (Que Phong) in early March 2025, it can be seen that the main road connecting National Highway 1A to the border gate is quite convenient for vehicles to travel. However, at Thong Thu Border Gate, there are no vehicles or goods passing through, except for local people visiting relatives in Laos.

It is observed that our side has an active Border Control Station. People passing through the border gate to visit relatives are all checked by the border guards and have their border crossing procedures completed. It is known that our side has also arranged customs officers, but because there are no official houses, they have rented houses near the border gate area to live and work.

According to Thong Thu Border Guard Station, the reason why goods and vehicles have not been cleared through Thong Thu Border Gate is: Although Vietnam has arranged a Border Control Station and customs officers right at the border gate, Laos has not yet arranged functional agencies to work, so goods and vehicles cannot be cleared between the two countries.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Hai - Head of Thong Thu Border Guard Station said: The biggest difficulty at the moment is that there is no electricity grid, no wifi signal and the phone signal is very weak and unstable at the border gate area. Therefore, to facilitate the authorities to carry out immigration procedures after goods and vehicles are cleared through customs, there must be stable electricity grid, wifi signal and phone signal. For a long time, the Border Control Station at the border gate has been using wifi and electricity grid from Laos.

Thong Thu is a highland border commune of Que Phong district, Nghe An province with more than 33.7 km of border adjacent to Laos. The whole commune has 8 villages with 1,158 households, 5,123 people, most of whom are ethnic minorities. The West borders the Vieng Phan cluster of villages in Xam Tay district, Hua Phan province (Laos). People of the two districts often cross the border to visit relatives, exchange, do business and trade. Mr. Luong Van Huan - Chairman of Thong Thu Commune People's Committee said that in the commune, there are quite a few people doing business and trading groceries and agricultural products. If goods and vehicles are allowed to clear customs through Thong Thu Border Gate, it will create conditions for the locality to develop its socio-economy.

Previously, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 1086/UBND-KT dated February 18, 2025 on the implementation of activities of people, vehicles and goods passing through the Thong Thu - Nam Tay and Thanh Thuy - Nam Om secondary border gates. On February 20, 2025, Que Phong District People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 299/UBND-KTHT detailing this task. Accordingly, from February 20, 2025, people, road motor vehicles and goods will be allowed to pass through Thong Thu - Nam Tay Border Gate.

Thong Thu Border Gate is located in Thong Thu Commune, Que Phong District (Nghe An), on the other side is Nam Tay Border Gate, Sam Tay District, Hua Phan Province (Laos). Nghe An and Hua Phan provinces have established a long-standing cooperative relationship. Over the past time, the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two provinces have been increasingly strengthened, promoted and developed steadily./.