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Vang Vieng Expressway to be Extended to China

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Laotian Times
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vang vieng expressway to china

The Vientiane to Vang Vieng expressway is now to be extended to China, according to a recent announcement by Yunnan Construction Engineering Group.

The first phase of the expressway will link Vientiane Capital with Vang Vieng, stretching some 113.5km, and the $1.2 billion USD agreement for the expressway was signed when Chinese President Xi Jinping made an official visit to Laos.

Now, the expressway is to be extended to reach the border between Laos and China at Boten, in Luang Namtha Province. This will provide an excellent opportunity for trade and passenger transport between the two nations.

The road will run parallel with the existing Road 13 north, and vehicles will be able to travel at up to 80 km per hour. It is expected that facilities such as gas stations, hotels, shops and restaurants will be constructed at various points along the course of the four-lane highway.

The project, headed by Yunnan Construction Engineering Group, is under a Build-Operate-Transfer model. It is expected to be complete by 2020.

New Law to Ensure Fair Compensation for Relocated Populations

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Laotian Times
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Laos Compensation Resettlement

A new law will pave the way for fairer and faster compensation payouts for landowners that lose their property to development projects, according to a policy developer.

The draft law on stabilization of livelihoods will determine conditions to ensure people who lose property can enjoy better living conditions after relocation. According to the draft law, those relocated due to development projects will be fully compensated and will also be provided with new and permanent employment.

The law will be submitted to the National Assembly’s ordinary session for approval in April this year.

The current compensation scheme is determined under Prime Ministerial Decree No. 84, which stipulates that compensation must ensure better living conditions for relocated populations. However, the new law will be more comprehensive, and will further detail the procedures for providing new employment to resettled persons.

More responsibility will be placed on the project developer under the new law, who will be required to provide infrastructure and ensure acceptable living conditions, as well as providing training and assistance during the transition period.

The new law requires compensation be paid within 24 months, and any failure to comply, or delays caused by the project developer, will result in higher levels of compensation in line with market prices, ensuring property owners are treated fairly.

 

Source: Vientiane Times
Photo: Giovanni C. Lorusso

Traffic Police to Breathalyze Motorists During New Year Festivities

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Laotian Times
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Vientiane Traffic Police New Year

Vientiane Capital traffic police convened last week to plan for strict regulation of traffic during the new year holiday period. The traffic police will begin breathalyzing motorists, as well as undertaking vehicle speed tests. Police will be stationed at over twelve different points around the capital, with the traffic blitz running from 25 December to 1 January 2018.

Lieutenant Colonel Youtaphong Souvannasing, Head of Vientiane Capital Traffic Police Division, said that to ensure that new year celebrations remain safe and secure, police are being reminded to strictly undertake their duties. Traffic police will remain at their posts to ease traffic congestion in the city center, and strict enforcement of the law will include speed restrictions, breathalyzing, and driver inspection points.

31 accidents occurred during new year festivities at the end of 2016, while a total of 1,500 road accidents, including 251 fatalities, occurred over the course of 2017.

It is hoped that the number of accidents can be reduced during the upcoming holiday, and that 2018 will see fewer road accidents than in previous years.

Source: Lao Post

Scandinavians Will Now Be Able to Visit Laos Without a VISA

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Laotian Times
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Map of Scandinavian Countries Exempt From VISAs to Laos
Map of Scandinavian Countries Exempt From VISAs to Laos

In an effort to promote tourism during the Visit Laos Year 2018, the Lao government will provide VISA exemptions for citizens of four Scandinavian countries: Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The visa waiver will take effect from 1 January and will cease at the end of December.

Travelers from the four countries wishing to visit Laos will be allowed a 15-day temporary stay, says MOFA (Foreign Affairs Ministry). The rationale for the initiative was based on the observation that an increasing number of Finnish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian visitors had come to Laos in 2016, compared to the year before, while there had been an overall 10% decrease in the total number of tourists.

In total, it was estimated that over 17,000 people from the Scandinavian countries travelled to Laos in 2016, an increase from the 16,468 visitors who came to Laos in 2015.

In addition to the one-year visa exemption for citizens of Scandinavian countries, Laos has entered into bilateral visa exemption agreements (long-term) for ordinary passport holders from 11 countries, namely the other nine ASEAN countries, Mongolia and most recently, Russia.

Laos has also extended unilateral visa exemptions (long-term) to nationals from Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

On a side note, has anyone ever wondered which countries Lao nationals can visit without visas?

Mahosot Hospital Upgrade to Commence in Late 2018

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Laotian Times
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President Xi and President Vorachit at Mahosot Hospital Upgrade Ground Breaking Ceremony, Nov 2017 (Photo credit: KPL)
President Xi and President Vorachit at Mahosot Hospital Upgrade Ground Breaking Ceremony, Nov 2017 (Photo credit: KPL)

The reconstruction of Mahosot Hospital is scheduled to begin by the end of 2018.

The hospital will be reconstructed as a four-building compound spread over 31,000 m2 comprising one 8-story building, two 4-story buildings and one 5-story building. The hospital will have a total of 600 beds.

“The hospital will be built to international standards to ensure it can provide standard medical service to more patients thus helping limit people seeking medical services overseas,” said Vice President of Mahosot Hospital, Dr Phisith Phousavath.

Xi lays ground for China-sponsored hospital in Laos

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Laotian counterpart Bounnhang Vorachit on Tuesday attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a China-sponsored hospital in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.Mahosot hospital was built in 1910, and run by French doctors. Now it will be renovated.Of all the hospitals China has helped build overseas, this is the biggest, with a bedding capacity of 600, according to the Chinese media. #XiJinping

Posted by Xi’s Moments on ວັນຈັນ ທີ 13 ພະຈິກ 2017

The hospital will continue to pursue its free-of-charge policy for the economically underprivileged citizens to ensure that all people have access to standard medical treatment, and will continue upgrading curative skills in endoscopic surgery, heart, hypertension and cancer prevention/treatment.

The hospital will be equipped with modern medical technology, and improved staff services will be a focus of the new and upgraded Mahosot.

The reconstruction of the hospital will be financed with a financial grant US$ 105 million pledged by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he had visited Laos in mid November, earlier this year.

Here are an artist’s perspectives of the new Mahosot:

Source: KPL

Laos Establishes 6th Consulate General in China

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Laotian Times
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Opening of Lao Consulate General in Changsha, China (Photo credit: Vientiane Times)
Opening of Lao Consulate General in Changsha, China (Photo credit: Vientiane Times)

Laos has recently established a consulate general in central China’s Changsha, the first foreign consulate in Hunan Province, the provincial foreign and overseas Chinese affairs office said. This makes Laos’ sixth consulate general in China.

The consular district includes the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Henan and Guizhou. The consulate is to promote cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation in investment, trade and education between Laos and central China.

Since a regular flight between Vientiane and Changsha was launched in August 2015, Laos has become a popular investment and travel destination for Hunan. Currently more than 160 Hunan companies have invested in Laos.

There other Lao consulate generals in China are located in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Kunming, Nanning, and Guangzhou. Additionally, there is a Lao consulate office in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan.

Source: ECNS & Vientiane Times

Vietnamese Companies Invest Over 5 Billion USD in Laos

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Laotian Times
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Unitel network, a joint venture between Viettel Global Joint Stock Company of Viettel and Lao Asia Telecom of Laos, will carry out 4G in four cities and provinces in Laos. Photo credit: VNA/VNS Pham Kien
Unitel network, a joint venture between Viettel Global Joint Stock Company of Viettel and Lao Asia Telecom of Laos, will carry out 4G in four cities and provinces in Laos. Photo credit: VNA/VNS Pham Kien

Vietnamese businesses have found much success in Laos primarily due to excellent commercial opportunities, market scale and operation quality in the landlocked nation. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Laos has licensed 423 Vietnamese projects worth more than USD $5 billion, namely in hydropower, mining, transport, industrial tree plantations and services.

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Lao Tourism Sector in Trouble

By
Laotian Times
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Chinese Tourists
Chinese Tourists

The latest statistics from the Lao government showed that the number of tourists has fallen, from January to September this year (2107). However, they also showed that more Chinese travelers are visiting Laos.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Laos in the first nine months of 2017 dropped by 9.1% to just over 2.88 million people compared to the same period in 2016. The Chinese are the only nationality whose numbers have increased, according to data from the Information, Culture and Tourism Ministry (MOICT).

More than 429,000 Chinese visited Laos, an increase of 5% compared to the first nine months of 2016.

Lao authorities attribute the low tourist numbers to the global economic slowdown and uncertain situations in many parts of the world, namely the ongoing war against ISIS in the Middle East, the immigration crisis and disputes in other regions.

Deputy Director of the Tourism Research and Administration Division (MOICT), Bounthavy Sisava, said that the relative high cost of living in Laos could also be blamed for the decline in tourist arrivals.

The number of visitors from the Asia-Pacific region fell by 7% to just over 2.7 million compared to the first nine months of last year.

Holiday seekers from the ASEAN countries also dropped by 7%, to just over 2.1 million people.

Visitors from two other major regions — Europe and the USA — fell by 34% and 35% to 113,982 and 43,224 people respectively.

Laos has also witnessed a considerable drop in the number of high-end tourists from countries like South Korea, Japan, and Germany by 17%, 38% and 37%, respectively.

Thai nationals continued to dominate the Lao tourist market share. Although the number of Thais vacationing in Laos fell by 7% to just over 1.3 million people, Thais accounted for almost 48% of overall foreign tourist arrivals.

Foreign tourist arrivals for the whole of 2017 are expected to fall by 11.2 percent compared to 2016, following last year’s drop of 10 percent.

In an effort to bring in more tourists in the years to come, the Lao government has launched Visit Laos Year 2018 which officially began on the 28th of October, earlier this year.

Source: Xinhua

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