The government of Laos is to upgrade a section of Route No. 13 South between Bolikhamxay and Khammouane provinces.
According to a report by Pasaxon, the section of Road No.13 South that will be upgraded covers a distance of 275 km between the two provinces.
The upgrade will begin at Km 71 of Bolikhamxay Province and end at Km 346 of Khammouane Province.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on Thursday between the Department of Roads and Bridges under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, with the Thang Long Joint Stock Corporation, as well as Souphaphone Construction Company.
The first phase of the road upgrade will begin at Km 71 and end at Km 111 in Bolikhamxay Province, covering a distance of 40 kilometers, and will then proceed to Km 346 in Khammouane Province in subsequent phases.
The total cost of the project is USD 157.5 million provided by the World Bank, EIB, and AIB, which provided low-interest loans for the project’s four phases.
The road upgrade will cost USD 125 million, with USD 1.7 million for compensation to residents, and USD 25.8 million for maintenance, and a further USD 5 million for project consultants.
After the upgrade, the road will be able to accommodate trucks weighing up to 11 tons, while the road surface will be improved by 10 to 20 cm. The road width will be increased from 9 meters to 12 meters, with two traffic lanes, and two new bridges will be built.
The construction project will last ten years from 2021 to 2031, with two or three years of construction and seven or eight years of road maintenance.
