About half of the 59 national mega projects under the government plan for 2011-2015 have commenced construction despite the country's financial difficulties.
Luang Prabang International Airport is among the mega projects planned in Laos.
An official in charge from the Ministry of Planning and Investment told Vientiane Times on Monday that the projects under construction are mostly related to infrastructure including roads, airports and other public facilities.
The official said some projects may be delayed until beyond the period of 2011-2015 due to the country's financial difficulties in the wake of revenue shortfall last fiscal year.
A high speed railway linking Vientiane and the Lao-Chinese border over a distance of 421km is amongst those in the list of 59 projects.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Sommad Pholsena was speaking to Lao media during an open meeting held between government cabinet members and provincial governors in Vientiane on September.
He said there are no obstacles to the planned building of the high speed railway, although the governments of Laos and China are in the process of negotiations on the project.
However Mr Sommad was unable to say exactly when construction would begin on the US$7 billion railway.
The construction of international airports in Huaphan, Attapeu and Luang Prabang provinces are also included in the 59 projects.
The two projects commenced construction earlier this year, aiming to facilitate trade, investment and tourism in the northern and southern regions of Laos.
The two projects are being built by the Vietnamese company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group. The company will be refunded through tax exemptions equivalent to the cost of construction.
The cost of the international airport in Huaphan province is about US$80 million and the airport is expected to be complete in 2015. Meanwhile Attapeu International Airport will be built at a cost of about US$45 million.
During the open meeting in September this year, the government decided to include two additional projects on the list of national mega projects for 2011-2015.
These included the construction of the new National Assembly(NA)conference hall to replace the existing one which was built in the 1990s at That Luang Esplanade in Vientiane as well as the construction of a road linking Huaphan province and the Lao-Vietnam border.
The cost of the construction of each project has been estimated at US$100 million.
The new NA conference hall is currently in the process of survey and design. However, construction could begin as early as the start of next year with completion possible sometime in 2015.
The government has delegated the responsibility to the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work in cooperation with the relevant sectors to ensure the mega projects can be operated as scheduled. The government also called for the relevant sectors to mobilise funding from sectors within Laos and overseas to launch the mega projects. The move is aimed to push forward the continued growth of the Lao economy and national development.
The revenue shortfall has forced the government to impose measures to respond to the needs of the country's budget expenditure.
The government wants to ensure that development projects can continue as planned, posing no impacts to the growth of the country's economy and poverty reduction efforts.
The new measures will include issuing bonds and borrowing money from various sources to pump into the national economy.
Another measure is to tighten revenue collection measures, particularly in relation to the timber export process and the importation of vehicles.
By Times Reporters (Latest Update November 26, 2013)
