The price of 18-liter bottled drinking water in Vientiane is going up from 18 March, with the Vientiane Capital Drinking Water Association announcing an increase from LAK 13,000 (USD 0.62) to LAK 15,000 (USD 0.71) per bottle.
The roughly 15 percent hike is the latest in a series of increases aimed to tackle the broader economic pressures squeezing producers in Laos.
In May 2023, the association raised prices from LAK 6,000 (USD 0.28) to LAK 8,000 (USD 0.38) per bottle, citing high inflation, the depreciation of the kip, labor shortages and rising production costs.
The same reasons are driving the 2026 increase, with the association again pointing to higher labor costs, consumables and equipment.
The bottled water price rise follows a separate but related decision last July, when the Vientiane Capital People’s Council approved a phased increase in tap water tariffs after finding that the city’s water utility had been operating at a loss.
Tap water prices had remained unchanged since 2014, even as the minimum wage more than doubled from LAK 950,000 (USD 45) to LAK 2.5 million (USD 119) and production costs climbed sharply due to rising raw material, chemical, electricity and fuel expenses.
The city is set to keep rolling out that increase over three years from 2025 to 2028.
Together, the two increases paint a picture of a water sector under sustained financial pressure, with both private producers and the state utility struggling to keep pace with rising costs.
The new bottled water price applies across all nine districts of Vientiane Capital and covers all member companies of the association’s drinking water network.
The association took the decision was unanimously at an Executive Committee meeting on 13 March, explicitly warning against using the transition period to compete for customers through undercutting.
