Laos has announced a plan to bury overhead cables in the capital of Vientiane, with plans to extend the project to the rest of the nation in the future.
The Ministry of Information and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with three construction companies to manage the laying of cables underground.
The first phase of the cable removal will include burying telecommunications and transmission lines underground in parts of Vientiane Capital in time for the upcoming ASEAN Summit hosted by Laos in 2024.
The government will then draft plans for laying underground telecommunication transmission lines throughout the country as part of a second phase.
According to the Ministry, the three companies that have been awarded the contract are Sisanchaleunsouk Road-Bridge Company, Xayya Construction, and LIT Solutions.
After signing the agreement, the Department of Technology and Communications, the Department of Public Works and Transport, and the Department of Energy and Mines in Vientiane Capital will begin collecting data to prepare for the infrastructure upgrade.
Vientiane Capital authorities vowed to untangle the mess of cables and wires spread across the streets in 2020, after then Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said the messy cables could tarnish the city’s image and cause fires or other accidents.
