Many roads and drainage systems in the capital have been resurfaced and repaired recently however in the process some concrete slabs or front yards have sustained damages along the routes where drainage was upgraded.
Affected residents are still confused as to whether the company should pay for the damages or whether in the end they will have to foot the repair costs themselves.
One resident who owns a house on Kamphaengmeuang Road said as the road construction project passed his residence a section of concrete slab had to be dug up in the process and afterwards there was rubble and broken concrete left behind.
When he called on the project contractor to repair the damaged slab he was told that if he wanted the repair works done he would have to pay 12 million kip to the contractor in order for the work to be carried out.
Meanwhile, a senior official from the Vientiane Public Works and Transport Department told Vientiane Times recently that if old slabs of concrete which were in useable condition were removed in order to install drainage and footpaths they should be restored to their previous state by the contractor at its own expense.
However he added that the company is only obliged to restore concrete slabs or other structures which were built in accordance with the regulations of urban planning and road reserves.
The official said the legislated size of road reserves is not uniform and differs according to different locations and some roads are regulated under different codes.
According to authorities in Vientiane, the building code states that any structure or building must be at least four metres from a roadside sidewalk.
In rural areas, alongside Road 13 North and South for example, buildings may not be closer than 25 metres to a sidewalk.
This year the government is concentrating on upgrades and improvements to the T4 Road from That Luang traffic lights to the Phonthan junction traffic lights, Kamphaengmeuang Road, 23 Singha Road, the section from the That Luang crossroads to Huakhua Bridge and other important roads in the city centre.
