The relocation of the southern bus station in Vientiane to a new site is set to begin this month, with the process expected to be completed by September, according to an official.The site of the new bus station on the 450 Year Road in Saphanmeuk village, Xaythany district is about 700 m from the present one.
Vientiane’s Southern Bus Association President, Mr. Khamsaen Thammavong told Vientiane Times that construction of the new station was almost complete with some work still remaining on a guesthouse.
The company has already submitted all the documentation to relevant sectors for the move and is now waiting for the official order.
However, the company would begin to relocate some buses to the new station this month to ease the move which was expected to be finished next month, he said.
Construction of the new station began at the end of 2014 and was originally scheduled to be finished last year but the project faced construction delays.
The existing station will be transferred to another private business but the bus company still actually had four more years to run on their concession.
“The relocation of the station will help reduce traffic congestion along Kaysone Phomvihane Road. It will also to provide direct services to more neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, while at the moment there are only services to Vietnam,” Mr. Khamsaen said.
“This will provide more convenience for passengers who want to travel to neighbouring countries by bus and help grow tourism across the country as well,” he added.
The new station will be more modern than the old one in terms of facilities and services to handle more buses and better cater for the continually growing number of passengers.
The new two storey building is situated in the central part of the lot with bus terminals behind the building and customer parking in front.
According to the company, the existing Southern bus station began operations in 2004 and currently caters for around 50 buses from different companies travelling to southern destinations and Vietnam while the number of VIP buses using the station was continually increasing, currently standing at between 10-20 depending on the time of year or special event occurring.
Source: J&C
