Yunnan, Laos agree on BOT mode for highway project

On April 4, Chen Wenshan, Chairman of the Yunnan Construction and Investment Group, and Souphanh Keomixay, Minister of Planning and Investment of the Lao PDR, signed in Vientiane a concession agreement for the Vientiane-Vang Vieng highway project.

According to the agreement, the two sides will jointly set up a China-Laos expressway development company, and the BOT (build-operate-transfer) mode will be adopted in investing, constructing and operating the Laotian highway. 

As part of the Vientiane-Boten highway and the Kunming-Bangkok highway, the 109-kilometre highway section will consume a total investment  1.3 billion U.S. dollars. The four-lane project also forms an essential part of the Asian Highway Network AH12.

The highway marks the first of its kind in Laos. And the highway is expected to cut the Vientiane-Vang Vieng bus-ride from the current four hours to only 1.5 hours in the future, when it is completed and put into service years later.

By Zhang Ruogu (Yunnan Daily)