HANOI, May 18  -- The final section of the expressway connecting Noi Bai in capital Hanoi and northwestern Lao Cai province, bordering China, was inaugurated Monday in Vietnam's northern Lao Cai province, some 250 km northwest of Hanoi.

The completion of the final 19 km section will link the expressway to Lao Cai's Kim Thanh border gate, bridging China's Hekou town, reported local Nhan Dan (People) online newspaper on Monday.

Vietnam's longest Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway with a total length of 245 kms was opened in September 2014.

Nguyen Hong Truong, deputy minister of Vietnam's Ministry of Transport said from now on, Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway will reach Kim Thanh border gate, connecting with China's Hekou-Kunming expressway, which helps to boost trade exchange between Vietnam and China.

With four traffic lanes in design, and allowing vehicles to travel at 80-100 km per hour, the section has total investment of 4.286 trillion Vietnamese dong (198.4 million U.S. dollars).

The Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway, which was started from 2009, plays a great role in the northwestern region and the whole country, as well as in cooperation among Greater Mekong Sub-region countries, including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, said Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung earlier in 2014.