Four universities to accept over 8,100 students
More than 8,100 students will be accepted to study at four state universities in Laos this academic year under the quota set by the Ministry of Education and Sports. Some 52,491 students around the country passed their final school exams out of the 52,756 pupils who ...
Almost 100 Champassak companies fail to pay taxes
Champassak provincial authorities have discovered that 94 companies have not paid their taxes for several months after registering their businesses. An official at the provincial Commerce and Industry Department, who asked not to be named, said that the department has set a 30-day deadline for these companies ...
Floating Vientiane pump stations to access river water
Water storage engineers in Vientiane are now installing pumps on boats moored over deep sections of the Mekong River as alternatives to riverbank pumps to access sufficient water supplies. Currently, riverbank pumps are still taking water from the Mekong to reservoirs but the level of water ...
Drone allows new view of Laos's bomb-riddled Plain of Jars
One of the world’s most mysterious archaeological sites has been seen in a new light thanks to advances in drone technology. The Plain of Jars in Laos is an spread of valleys and foothills littered with thousands of stone jars thought to date back to the ...
Certification ‘key’ to better forest management
Laos and Indonesia’s keen efforts to certify their logging industries have paved the way for access to wider markets, better timber prices, and less deforestation and illegal logging. Six timber-processing businesses in Laos have been certified and five million hectares of plantation forest has been certified ...
Lao people fighting for change 'deserve better than silence'
Anne-Sophie Gindroz, a former Swiss humanitarian worker in Laos, observed forced displacement and evictions of rural populations to make way for dams and other controversial infrastructure and plantation projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian country. Gindroz, who was the country director for Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, ...
Floods Kill At Least 14 in Southern Laos, Hundreds of Thousands Displaced
At least 14 people have died and at least one is missing as floods ravage Laos’ six southern provinces, stretching government relief capacity, authorities and residents said Wednesday. Tropical storm Podul and tropical depression Kajiki slammed into the area one after the other last week, dumping ...
Hor Pha Keo restoration nearing completion
Renovation of the Hor Pha Keo Museum is now about 80 percent complete, according to the Vice Mayor of Vientiane Mr Saythong Keoduangdy. Speaking at a press conference at the museum on 16 February, Mr Saythong said the first phase of the restoration was almost 100 ...
Lao Ministry sets target yields for agriculture
The Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is asking farmers around the country to grow 4.2 million tonnes of rice this fiscal year, seeking to boost commercial production and ensure food security. According to the figures provided by the ministry, 2.1 million tonnes of the total ...
New waste transfer station to open in Vientiane
A Japanese grant aid project will see the operation of a new waste transfer station in Vientiane and the addition of 70 new garbage trucks, to be put to use in the capital as well as Luang Prabang and Xayaboury provinces. Director General of the Department ...
Amid hydropower boom, Laos streams ahead on latest Mekong dam
On a wide bank of the Mekong River, yellow markers and visits by surveyors show preparations underway to build Laos’ third and largest dam on Southeast Asia’s most vital waterway. About an hour downstream, in the laid-back tourist centre of Luang Prabang, the dam’s developers heard ...
Kay Johnson, Panu Wongcha-um
Govt, ADB consult on new country partnership strategy
The Lao government and the Asian Development Bank have jointly discussed preparations for the new ADB Country Partnership Strategy 2017-2021, to align ADB’s support with Lao development priorities in its next five year plan. The consultation meeting was held in Vientiane on 2 June and was jointly ...
Banks to issue more loans despite lower rates
Despite the fact that the Bank of the Laos recently declared a lower interest rate for deposits and loans, many banks in Laos believe the number of depositors and borrowers will not decrease in the years to come. ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd. is one of several ...
French government gives boost to regional agro-ecology
The Lao government and a French government agency have agreed to implement the Agro-ecological Change in Southeast Asia project after the French government approved 2.7 million euros in grant funding. The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Bounkhouang Khambounheuang ...
Laos eyes more rice sales to China
Laos’ Savannkhet province is looking to increase rice exports to China to more than 10,000 tons a year after the first order for 8,000 tons was received from the Chinese market this year. Laos on 10 December officially exported its first batch of rice to China from ...
Open Development Laos updates the topic page ‘Ethnic minorities and indigenous people’
ODL has updated its page on ethnic minorities and indigenous people, including information on the history of ethnic group classification, lifestyles, and ongoing challenges. Learn more about Laos’ ethnic people here. ...
Villagers displaced by Xayaboury dam enjoy higher incomes
Villagers who had to leave their homes to make way for the Xayaboury hydropower plant project are now earning more money, thanks to income-generating activities and employment opportunities offered by the project. For instance, one indicator shows that the annual average income per family in Nator ...
WFP extends support for mother and child health
The World Food Programme has forecasted a budget of over US$8.5 million in assistance for the 2016-17 fiscal year to improve the health of mothers and children in Laos. This support forms part of the 12-month project “Mother and Child Health and Nutrition Programme”, which is ...
More Japanese investors heading to Laos
More and more Japanese companies are coming to invest in Laos given that the country is integrating with the region and the world and is improving its investment climate. As of May 2016, the number of Japanese companies in Laos had climbed to 132 which is ...
Authorities make fresh call for aquatic life protection
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Livestock and Fisheries Department has once again asked fishermen to help preserve protected wildlife and aquatic species in Laos. The warning comes in the wake of an image of a fisherman with a giant Mekong Stingray being posted on Facebook ...
