Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith has ordered the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to urgently address urban water shortages and clear overdue investment project debts.
The newly elected prime minister issued the directives during a working visit to the ministry on 13 October, where he met Public Works and Transport Minister Leklay Sivilay.
Saleumxay said water shortages and unpaid project debts directly affect people’s livelihoods and investment.
Water shortages are particularly severe in Vientiane, where supply is tightest from March to May, when temperatures peak and the Mekong River, the capital’s main source of raw water, runs lowest.
State media reported that 103 of Vientiane’s 481 villages still lack access to tap water. The 378 villages with water service leave the remaining communities, mainly in Pakngum, Sangthong, and parts of Xaythany districts, without access to piped water.
The Vientiane Capital Water Supply State Enterprise supplies an average of 400,000 cubic metres of water daily, up 50,000 cubic metres from before 2024. However, demand stands at about 504,000 cubic metres per day.
The enterprise is expanding treatment capacity to address the gap.
In April, it began operating the Thatkhao Water Treatment Plant in Sisattanak district, adding 20,000 cubic metres of daily capacity. It is also building the Banmai plant at Huayhom, due to open in April 2027, and the Danxang plant, expected by late 2027. Each will add 20,000 cubic metres per day. An extension to the Chinaimo plant is expected to add another 40,000 cubic metres per day by late 2028.
Nationwide, Laos operates 238 water supply plants with a combined capacity of 883,000 cubic metres per day. State media reported that distribution systems lose about 28.56 percent of water through non-revenue water, including water lost before it reaches customers.
