Press Releases
Signing and Exchange of Notes concerning support for strengthening the foundation of economic growth by providing road maintenance and repair-related equipment to the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Grant aid “the Economic and Social Development Programme”)
April 26, 2024
On April 26, 2024, in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mr. KOBAYASHI Kenichi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and H.E. Mr. Phoxay KHAYKHAMPHITHOUNE, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, signed and exchanged notes for Economic and Social Development Programmes (project of up to 1.5 billion yen).
- In Laos, a landlocked country, overland roads are particularly important infrastructure that support logistics. However, many roads have short-lived simple pavements, and bridges and tunnels have not been inspected as necessary to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to deal with the progress of deterioration and damage. In the midst of this constant need for repair, the heavy rains and floods of 2023 severely damaged the transportation infrastructure in the central region, including National Road Route 8, an economic corridor linking Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. In order to quickly rehabilitate the damaged economic corridor, there is an urgent need to expand road maintenance and repair-related equipment.
- Under this programme, Japan will provide the Government of Laos with road maintenance and repair equipment (a bridge inspection vehicle, dump trucks, road stabilizers, etc.). It is expected to realize rapid disaster recovery, improve the quality of the infrastructure, and thereby contribute to economic and social development through social stabilization.
(Reference) Basic Data on the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
The country covers 240,000 square kilometers (about the same size as Japan's main island of Honshu) , a population of approximately 7.53 million people and a gross national income (GNI) per capita is US$2,310 (2022, World Bank).