29 C
Vientiane
Saturday, November 1, 2025
spot_img
Home Blog Page 4345

Pakxong to Become Champassak’s Second Largest Town

The district of Pakxong will be developed into the second largest urban centre in Champassak province after Pakxe, according to a provincial official.

Champassak province has been undertaking groundwork to develop the town with Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam creating a new urban plan for Pakxong to deal with its rapid economic growth and development.

Deputy Director of the provincial Public Works and Transport Department, Mr Bounnao Fongkhamdeng, told Vientiane Times on Wednesday that provincial authorities are preparing urban planning development proposals for the government.

Ho Chi Minh City devised a new urban plan for Pakxong as the existing one has not been updated for 30 years and it’s not appropriate for its present and future development, he said.

Vietnam funded the new design, aiming to develop trade, investment and tourism, but the money to realise the project will have to come from the Lao government, he added.

Champassak province is made up of the 10 districts of Pakxe, Xanasomboun, Bachiengchaleunsouk, Pakxong, Pathoumphon, Phonthong, Champassak, Soukhouma, Mounlapamok and Khong.

Ho Chi Minh City presented the new urban planning design to Champassak province on Monday at a handover ceremony attended by provincial Governor Dr Bounthong Divixay and former member of the Politburo and former Ho Chi Minh Party Secretary Le ThanhHai.

Surveys were carried out in March 2013 with the final plan completed in August this year.

At the handover, provincial governor Dr Bounthong noted that the plan for Pakxong allocated specific zones for commercial production, housing and public spaces along with roads, electricity and water supply infrastructure.

He urged provincial and district authorities to expedite their project proposals in order to request funding from the government.

Prime Minister ThonglounSisoulith highlighted the province’s strong economy on a visit two months ago but also emphasised five issues in particular.

He said Champassak needed to seek more investment from domestic and overseas sources for coffee and other farms on the Bolaven Plateau, which is part of Pakxong district.

Pakxong not only has a growing reputation for its crops and coffee farms, but also its waterfalls and other tourist attractions, which are drawing more visitors.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

PM Calls for more Proficient Workforce

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has called for the workforce to be strengthened so that Lao goods and services can compete with those of other countries amid regional integration.

Mr Thongloun made the call yesterday in his address at the annual meeting of the labour and social welfare sector.

If we can’t produce a workforce that meets requirements in terms of both quantity and quality, and timely supply for employers, we won’t be able to prevent an influx of workers from other ASEAN countries, Mr Thongloun said, referring to the free movement of labour that is permitted within the ASEAN Economic Community.

He said the improvement of domestic labourers’ skills would be one way to prevent them losing their jobs. He stressed that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and related sectors would prioritise the comprehensive development of Lao workers in terms of skills, capability, discipline, and perseverance.

He reminded officials that employers often complain about Lao labourers not being dedicated to their jobs and taking time off at will. This common problem was frustrating for employers and harmed their business operations.

The premier said checks would be made on the implementation of the Labour Law, especially concerning the lowest wage policy and welfare issues.

Inspections were also called for by the prime minister to see whether the rumours that employers were giving their workers stimulants so they could work longer hours were true.

He asked the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Trade Unions to urgently look into the matter.

Regarding management, Mr Thongloun asked the ministry whether existing employment systems, such as job fairs, were satisfactory. He said he wanted to be sure that one business’s hiring of skilled labour did not affect employment in other businesses and that people were hired through a system of good cooperation.

Concerning the demand for labour, the prime minister said the Ministry of Education and Sports must investigate the needs of the various sectors.

The ministry reported that more than 132,000 people underwent skill development in the past year, and around 146,000 people found jobs.

The creation of trade union and Party organisations within factories and business units was raised by Mr Thongloun, who said these were compulsory. He referred to the situation in China and Vietnam, where such bodies not only protected workers, but facilitated business operations.

Laos is a destination for illegal workers from neighbouring countries. Numerous people from neighbouring countries come to Laos on tourist visas but stay here and open shops throughout the country.

Mr Thongloun tabled the prevention of illegal foreign labour migration for discussion at the meeting. He pointed to the growing number of foreigners who entered and stayed in Laos for a couple months but obtained a work permit after registering with the authorities and even a Lao identity card.

He called on ministries and local authorities to cooperate in addressing this issue.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Rise in Vehicle Numbers at Boten Border

The number of vehicles crossing the Boten international checkpoint between Laos and China in LuangNamtha province has been reported to have increased as of this week.

Usually about 400 cars and heavy trucks from Laos, China and other countries are crossing the Laos-China border daily.

Head of the management committee for the Boten international checkpoint, Mr Phonsay Chanthasone told Vientiane Times on Monday that about 500 vehicles were recorded as crossing the Boten border last week.

So far this week, Boten international checkpoint seems to be seeing about 1,000 vehicles crossing the border daily between the two countries, he reported.

Generally the border crossing sees 400 vehicles in a day but the recent increase has been attributed to the arrival of the first construction vehicles from China.

Many construction vehicles have been headed to LuangPrabang province from the Laos-China border in LuangNamtha province after the Laos-China railway was officially opened for construction on Sunday.

Mr Phonsay added that it is possible that the number of vehicles crossing the Boten border could rise to up to 1,200 vehicles per day during the period when the construction vehicles for the railway project are transported into Laos.

A railway bridge over the Mekong in LuangPrabang province will be part of the planned 417-km Laos-China railway running from the Chinese border to Vientiane through the four provinces of LuangNamtha, Oudomxay, LuangPrabang, and Vientiane.

Officials at Boten international checkpoint in LuangNamtha province are working hard to introduce measures to minimise traffic chaos at the crossing between the two countries as the Laos-China railway project commences.

Mr Phonsay Chanthasone told the press earlier this month that the Boten border checkpoint was being closed at 8:00pm but that when the 500 or 1,000 Chinese vehicles came to cross into Laos, the border officials planned to remain open until 10:00pm in a bid to reduce traffic congestion.

The construction of the Laos-China railway is good because it will reduce the number of vehicles being used for cross border goods transportation.

Right now, the roads in the country are quite small and their quality is not very high.

The total value of goods imported and exported via the Boten international border was estimated at US$86 million for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

Officials reported that there are 250,000 people including tourists and traders crossing the border in a year.

Source: Vientiane Times

140 Fires Inflict Property Damage Nationwide in 2016

A total of 140 fires were reported around the country this year, killing one person, injuring two others and causing over 115 billion kip in damages, according to the Fire Prevention and Protection Police Department.

The department, which is part of the Ministry of Public Security, noted that 188 houses burned down, along with a market, an apartment, 30 shops, three school buildings, four warehouses, two petrol stations, one furniture shop and five monks’ living quarters.

Seven cars and six motorbikes were among the many items damaged or destroyed.

Sixty-three of the fires were caused by electrical short circuits, another five by arson, 48 through carelessness or forgetfulness, and four due to technical error. Another 20 fires are still under investigation.

The biggest fire occurred at the Dao Heuang market in Pakxe district, Champassak province. The blaze gutted the market and caused damages estimated at 58 billion kip.

Sixty-one of the fires occurred in Vientiane, causing over 24 billion kip in damages.

One fire occurred last week in Nongbone village, Xaysettha district, where a house burned down after an electrical short-circuit in a bedroom.

The house was owned by Ms Sanila, 68, and the blaze caused damages estimated at over 800 million kip.

The police and Vientiane Rescue deployed fire trucks to bring the blaze under control, reporting that the fire took hold very quickly as many of the items inside the house were highly flammable. It took fire fighters about 20 minutes to completely extinguish the flames.

The second fire last week occurred in Phakhao village, Xaythany district. It destroyed one house rapidly and spread to two other houses but was then contained. Luckily, no one died.

The concrete single-storey house that was destroyed was owned by MsChanpheng, 59. The blaze caused damage estimated at over 650 million kip and police and other authorities are currently investigating the cause.

T he Fire Prevention and Protection Police Department has urged residents to check electrical devices before leaving home, to take care when burning rubbish, and not to let children play with fire.

The department also repeated its warning for people to be on guard against accidental fires and not to take risks with electrical wiring or appliances, or to leave burning candles unattended, as these are the most common causes of house fires.

Source: Vientiane Times

PM Urges Agriculture Officials to Realise Country’s Potential

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has called on the agriculture and forestry sector to act in the interests of the country by providing green and clean food to the nation and the global market.

The prime minister made the call yesterday when addressing the sector’s annual meeting.

The sizeable rice harvest this year was attributed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s enhanced food security programme, with 4.2 million tonnes of rice being produced.

Meanwhile, livestock and fish farms are now able to provide an average of 55 kg of meat and fish to every citizen each year.

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Lien Thikeo said the use of machinery and new techniques in rice cultivation had seen harvests triple in size, and farmers were earning 3.6 million kip a tonne for the crop.

Mr Thongloun praised the achievements of the sector which, he said, despite the previous cold winter, the late onset of the rainy season, locust outbreaks and flooding, had seen 3.2 percent growth in productivity and now comprised 23 percent of GDP.

He stressed that the ministry should not aim solely for higher yields, as this could undermine public trust in crop quality. He said people in many countries were now cautious about high-yielding crops as they doubted whether they were grown in acceptable ways and believed they could be contaminated with chemicals.

“We should not only consider high yields, but rather be producing a small quantity that can be sold for a high price,” Mr Thongloun said.

The prime minister revealed his concerns about some traditional varieties of fruit such as the Nambak orange, which was valued for its special flavour. He said this particular species was in danger of being lost because people were mixing the seeds with those of other orange varieties.

He praised the decision by authorities in the northern provinces to stop the commercial-scale cultivation of bananas, which he said were not traditional Lao varieties and harmed the soil.

Mr Thongloun also advised agriculture officials to step up organic farming in the coming years. This would appeal to foreigners, who would like the idea of visiting a country where they knew they could breathe fresh air, swim in clean water, eat organically farmed food, and buy organically grown and clean produce.

“If we can realise this vision, it will create value and benefit Laos. We have the potential and we can compete,” Mr Thongloun said.

The development of agriculture-related industries was also called for by the prime minister, who said the ministry should provide technical assistance to agribusiness.

He pushed for agribusinesses to be grouped into an association that would encourage members to share their creative ideas and boost their market share. He noted that such an association should not force members to take a course of action as this would not be productive.

The four strategic programmes pursued by the ministry are food security, commercial agricultural production, sustainable forest development, and rural development combined with poverty reduction.

A new outcome of the food security programme over the past year was the supply of fresh meat directly from a farm and modern slaughterhouse operated under the first phase of Laos-Hungary cooperation in meat production.

The ministry will also aim for 3-4 percent growth of the sector by 2020.

With regard to forestry, the prime minister praised the ministry for carrying out Prime Min ister’s Order No. 15, which he said restored trust in the government’s plan to achieve forest cover of 70 percent by 2020.

Concerning rural development, Mr Thongloun said the ministry should not focus merely on merging small villages into larger urban units, but should also make sure that adequate amenities were provided so that residents could make a living.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Laos Gets $850,000 Containerized Data Center

Laos’ first state-run data center opened recently, funded by a Japanese program supporting environmentally sound technology.

The facility marks “a big step” toward improving the nation’s IT environment, Science and Technology Minister Boviengkham Vongdara said at a ceremony held on Nov. 29 in Vientiane, the capital.

Laos’ information technology infrastructure is among the weakest in Southeast Asia, with state employees often using webmail for official business for want of government email accounts. The new data center will initially provide much-needed network capacity for government institutions.

A Japanese consortium involving internet service provider Internet Initiative Japan, trading company Toyota Tsusho and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities supported the facility, which was built as a demonstration project.

All funding was provided by Japan under a program run by the government-backed New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO. Once the trial phase ends in February 2018, the data center will be handed over to the Laotian government.

The data center’s servers are housed in shipping containers for easy transport and setup — an approach suited to developing countries like Laos. Containerized data centers consume 40% less power than facilities housed in self-standing structures. Setup involves simply transporting the containers to the desired site and connecting all the equipment. In the case of the Laotian project, construction took only seven months or so, or 70% less time than building a conventional data center.

The facility is estimated to cost less than 100 million yen ($850,000), a price that even developing countries can afford. Containerized data centers have also been used in Russia and hold promise as a building block for IT infrastructure in less-developed nations around the world.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

Ministry To Draft New Health Insurance Law

Health Insurance Law Laos

The Ministry of Health plans to introduce a Health Insurance Law to improve the healthcare system and ensure patients benefit as intended.

It is expected the law will come into effect in late 2018. It will ensure that money is available to pay patients who are members of the Health Insurance Fund for medical costs specified in the insurance agreement.

A legal expert at the ministry, Dr Chansamone Phengsavanh, told Vientiane Times yesterday the law is needed in response to public demand for an improved healthcare service system for members of the fund.

For several years now, members of the Health Insurance Fund have been complaining of the poor service they have received from hospitals. Patients say that doctors, nurses and other staff don’t provide them with good quality care.

In Laos, they say, health workers still practice old-fashioned working methods just as they did many years ago.

This means they don’t take proper care of hospital patients, believing they need only provide minimal services as they are not required by law to do otherwise.

The Health Insurance Fund is operated by the Social Insurance Agency of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. But there have been problems with coordination between hospitals and the ministry concerning the reimbursement of treatment costs.

The ministry has been unable to resolve this problem because of the lack of a Healthcare Insurance Law, Dr Chansamone said.

We think that members of the fund will benefit from such a law because the Health Insurance Fund is operated by the Ministry of Health, he added.

The scheme would be administered by a government agency under the ministry so that it would be more efficient and provide a better system for patients, he said.

In 2017-2018, the ministry also plans to strengthen the Law on Disease Control, Hygiene and Health Promotion.

From 2011 to 2015 the following laws have been passed to improve the health sector: Law on Alcoholic Beverages; Healthcare Law; Law on Food; Law on Drugs and Medical Products; Law on Hygiene, Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Law on HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention; and the Law on Tobacco Control.

According to the National Assembly, Laos now has more than 100 laws in effect.

Source: Vientiane Times

Fewer Businesses Opening in Laos

fewer businesses opening in laos

The number of entrepreneurs opening businesses in Laos declined by 13 percent over the past 10 months of this fiscal year compared to the same period last year.

According to a recent government report, the number of registered businesses reached 1,666 units from October 2016 to May 2016 with registered capital amounting to 23.8 trillion kip.

Retail and wholesale businesses accounted for 39 percent of the total, followed by transport and warehouse related business (10 percent), construction (8 percent), industrial processing (8 percent), and science and technology (6 percent).

A senior economist at the National Economic Research Institute, Dr Leeber Leebouapao, told Vientiane Times this week that the downturn was linked to several factors including the global economic slowdown, which resulted in declining demand.

“I also think that some business sectors are saturated, such as restaurants,” he added.

Dr Leeber also said the long time it took to approve the setting up of a business was to be blamed as it delayed those wanting to do business and was a deterrent in some cases.

Laos is a landlocked Least Developed Country with a population of 6.5 million people and has strong trade relations with its neighbours including China, Thailand and Vietnam.

While the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has indicated a willingness to shift to the non-resource sectors, it is not clear exactly where this policy intent is directed.

Last year the EU provided 5 million euros for the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote business activities between Laos and the EU.

Several months ago, commercial banks in Laos lowered interest rates on both deposits and loans in line with a decision made by the Bank of the Lao PDR.

The move supports the government’s wish to lower the interest charged on loans and thereby stimulate business activity and lower production costs, which should enable Lao products to be competitive in international markets.

This year, the economy grew by 6.9 percent which was lower than the government’s target of 7.5 percent. However, this growth rate is high compared to other countries in the region.

The economic slowdown in China and falling commodity prices on the world market have impacted on the Lao economy.

In general the Lao economy is vulnerable to external impacts because it relies too heavily on the resource sector.

Economists say it is essential to diversify the economy by encouraging more people to operate businesses that create jobs and generate more revenue for the government.

Another requirement is to make the investment process easier so that local and foreign entrepreneurs are encouraged to do business in Laos.

All of these factors will help to build a strong economic foundation that will enable Laos to be more resilient in the face of the global economic slowdown.

Source: Vientiane Times