Firms keen on expressway development
NINETEEN Laotian and foreign companies have expressed interest in developing the planned Vientiane-Pakxe expressway, a senior Laotian government official has said.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment recently called for local and foreign investors to apply for participation in the mega-project by submitting an official expression of interest along with relevant documentation. The submission deadline was February 14.
The project’s coordinating official from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport told Vientiane Times that the government had issued a notice asking relevant ministries to assign representatives to a subcommittee that will be in charge of scrutinising the qualified applicants.
The issue of whether only one or multiple investors would undertake the project and other relevant details would be discussed later by the subcommittee after it is formed, said the official, who wished to be unnamed.
Successful candidates will be selected based on their financial capability to carry out the project, which will be financed and developed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
The expressway will link Vientiane to Pakxe, capital of Champassak province, over an estimated distance of 585 kilometres, significantly shorter than the more-than-700km trip between the two cities using the current Road 13 South.
The new transport route will be 23 metres wide overall comprising four lanes, each 3.5 metres wide, will meet Asean expressway standard Class 1 and will be able to accommodate loads of 11 tonnes per axle.
Estimated cost of the project has not been calculated as the survey and feasibility study have yet to be conducted.
The selected firms will be required to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government to carry out a survey, feasibility study, design and construction of the project.
The expressway, which is to include bridges and tunnels, will pass through a new corridor and avoid dense residential communities to minimise impacts.
The new highway is necessary to accommodate the growing transport needs between the central and southern regions of Laos, which now rely solely on Road 13 South.
BOT is a form of project financing wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct and operate the facility described in the concession contract. This enables the project proponent to recover its investment, operating and maintenance costs.
