On 20 December, Oudomxay Province signed a concession agreement with Ammata Lao Lanexang Co., Ltd., a private company, granting them the rights to utilize a total of 697 hectares of land in the province for bamboo concession projects.
The agreement establishes the company’s operations in two main areas:
The first area covers 150 hectares of government-owned land, where the company is authorized to carry out natural bamboo cutting activities.
The second area, spanning 547 hectares, requires the company to support local residents by encouraging them to plant, harvest, and sell bamboo. In addition, the company must establish a workshop to process bamboo into daily-use products. This initiative will cover seven districts in Oudomxay Province: Xay, La, Namor, Nga, Beng, Houn, and Pak Beng.
Ammata Lao Lanexang is permitted to operate only within the designated areas and exclusively in the production forest zones allocated by Oudomxay Provincial authorities.
For each bamboo harvest, the company is required to develop an annual harvesting plan, based on a survey, and submit it to the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry. This plan will then be compiled and forwarded to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for approval.
The overall goal of this agreement is to promote sustainable investment in bamboo cutting, encourage local residents to plant and harvest bamboo, and establish factories to process bamboo into products such as paper, white charcoal, baskets, souvenirs, toothpicks, chopsticks, and skewers. This initiative aims to benefit both the local community and the business while ensuring long-term sustainability and growth for Oudomxay Province.
