Recovery operation underway at Lao Airlines crash site

Recovery operation underway at Lao Airlines crash site

Divers from Thailand have attempted to retrieve bodies of the passengers on the Lao Airlines flight that crashed into Mekong River and killed all 49 on aboard in Laos' Champassak province on Wednesday, the Vientiane Times reported Thursday.

As of Thursday, seven bodies had already been recovered. They are being kept at Vat Chin temple in Pakse district.

Lao Airlines officials told the Times that an investigation into the cause of the accident was currently underway, with preliminary findings expected to be announced soon.

The officials spoke at a press briefing on Thursday during which they confirmed that there were no survivors from the crash, which saw the aircraft breaking up on impact.

Initial reports suggested that the plane from Vientiane encountered a heavy gust of wind as it approached the Pakse International Airport for landing.

Among the passengers killed were five Thai nationals, three of them staff member of PTT plc.

The airline's officials said they will provide all necessary assistance to the friends and relatives of those killed and keep them informed of developments.

They confirmed that the doomed Flight 301 departed Vientiane for Pakse at 2.45pm yesterday, and crashed just over an hour later while approaching Pakse airport for landing. The flight went down into the Mekong near Phaling village in Phonthong district, Champassak province.

According to the flight manifest, there was a total of 49 people onboard, all of whom are thought to have perished in the crash.

On board were two pilots, two flight attendants, one engineer and 44 passengers. There were numerous foreign nationals from some 10 countries on the flight.

The manifest listed those on board as 16 Lao nationals, seven French, six Australians, five Thai, three South Koreans, two Vietnamese, as well as an American, a Canadian, a Chinese national, a Malaysian and one person from Taiwan.

~News courtesy of The Nation~

8 bodies recovered from Mekong, 14 identified

8 bodies recovered from Mekong, 14 identified



A Lao woman, left, is comforted by a Thai woman yesterday at a Chinese temple in Pakse.

Some 38 bodies of victims from the Lao Airlines crash have been retrieved from the Mekong River, which the ill-fated Flight QV301 plunged into last Wednesday.

Fourteen of the bodies have been identified, including the Cambodian captain and three crew members, six Laotian passengers, one Vietnamese, two Australians and a Chinese passenger, according to a statement by Lao Airlines vice president Saleum Tayarath released yesterday.

He said a special team from the airline was working with national and local authorities as well as investigators from the plane manufacturer in France and rescue workers from Thailand.

It remained unclear yesterday whether any of the five Thai passengers of the turbo-prop ATR-72 plane was among the bodies found.

The plane crash occurred near Pakse airport in the southern Laotian province of Champasak.

According to an updated passenger list from the airline, there were 16 Laotians, seven French travellers, six Australians, five Thais, three South Koreans, three Vietnamese, and one national each from the United States, Malaysia, China and Taiwan.

Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong thanked Thailand yesterday for helping with the search efforts when he met his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra in Nong Khai. Yingluck also promised "full support" to the ongoing mission to recover bodies of the crash victims and salvage the aircraft. Thai officials would also help Laos in identifying the bodies.

Yingluck said she expressed regret over the incident and that the Laotian leader thanked Thailand for its assistance.

The Thai and Lao leaders were in the northeastern province, which has a bridge connecting to the Laotian capital Vientiane, for a merit-making ceremony at Wat Pho Chai to mark the end of Buddhist Lent.

Jong-Pil Park, from South Korea's national forensic department, said the crash was a huge challenge for impoverished Laos, with damage to the bodies creating further hurdles in identification. "They need to analyse DNA samples, finger prints and dental [records]. They need to solve by cooperating with many countries," he said, adding that it could take up to two weeks to finish conducting the autopsies.

In an updated statement late yesterday, Lao Airlines said some of the bodies had been returned to their families, including the Cambodian pilot, whose body was flown back to Phnom Penh. Teams of French and Thai experts plied the muddy Mekong River with high-tech sonar equipment yesterday, ramping up the search for the remnants of the plane and more than a dozen bodies still missing from the crash.

By yesterday afternoon, 38 bodies have been found and authorities were still trying to identify many of them, said Yakua Lopangkao, director-general of Laos' Department of Civil Aviation.

"We have not been able to locate the plane yet, but the teams from France and Thailand have arrived," Yakua said.

"We have split them into several teams to do simultaneous searches at two or three spots. We believe that one of these spots is where we will find the black box."

A Canadian engineer who specialises in underwater robotics said the strong current in the Mekong could make it almost impossible to lift the plane off the bottom of the river and recover any bodies still inside the wreck. The engineer, who preferred not be named, said the strong current meant as many as six barges and cranes might be needed to lift the plane, if it could be found, and they may need to build a wall at the top end to deflect the fast moving current around the wreck.

The French and Thai teams set out on small boats yesterday to scan the water's surface with sonar equipment. Thai navy divers conducted underwater searches for the flight data and voice recorders.

~News courtesy of The Nation~

Pakse China Commerce Association 百色中国商会

Basic Lao Phrases

Basics

Hello. 

(Sa-bai-Dee.) ສະບາຍດີ

How are you? 

(Sa-bai-Dee Baw?) ສະບາຍດີບໍ່

Fine, thank you. 

(Dee, Kup-Jai.) ດີຂອບໃຈ

What is your name? 

( Jâo Suu Nyang?) ເຈົ້າຊື່ຫຍັງ

My name is ______ . 

( Khàwy Suu _____.) ຂ້ອຍຊື່

Please. 

(Kawlunaa) ກະລຸນາ

Thank you. 

(Khawp Jai)ຂອບໃຈ

It's nothing. 

(Baw Pen Nyang.) ບໍ່ເປັນຫຍັງ

Yes. 

(Maen Leeo") ແມ່ນແລ້ວ

No. 

(Baw)ບໍ່

Excuse me/I'm Sorry. (Begging Pardon) 

(Khǎw Thôht) ຂໍໂທດ

Goodbye and Take Care 

(Sôhk Dee Deuh) ໂຊກດີແດ້

Do you speak English? 

(Jâo Wâo Pháa-Sǎa Ang-git Dai Baw?) ເຈົ້າເວົ້າພາສາອັງກິດໄດ້ບໍ່

I can't speak English very well. 

(Khàwy Wâo Pháa-Sǎa Ang-Kit baw Dai) ຂ້ອຍເວົ້າພາສາອັງກິດບໍ່ໄດ້

I can't speak ____. 

(Khàwy Wâo Pháa-Sǎa ____ Baw Dai.)ຂ້ອຍເວົ້າພາສາ_______ບໍ່ໄດ້

Please speak slowly. 

(Kalunaa, Wâo Sah-Saah)ກະລຸນາເວົ້າຊ້າໆ

Do you understand? 

(Jâo Khào Jai Baw?) ເຈົ້າເຂົ້າໃຈບໍ່

--Yes. I understand. 

(Maen Laeow. Khàwy Khào Jai) ແນ່ນແລ້ວ, ເຂົ້າໃຈ

--No. I don't understand. 

(Baw. Khàwy Baw Khào Jai) ບໍ່ ຂ້ອຍບໍ່ເຂົ້າໃຈ

Where is the bathroom? 

(Hàwng Nâm Yuu Sǎi?) ຫ້ອງ້ຳຢູ່ໃສ

(Ethnicity)I am ____. 

(Khoy Pen Khon ____.) ຂ້ອຍເປັນຄົນ_____

Indochina Bank - Pakse Branch

Laos gives Mekong dam go-ahead

Laos gives Mekong dam go-ahead despite ecologists' fears

Conservationists cried foul yesterday as the Lao government decided to go ahead with the Don Sahong Dam on the Mekong River. The hydropower project, to be built in the Siphandone area of southern Champasak Province, could block the only channel available for dry-season fish migration on the Mekong, thereby threatening the world's largest inland fishery, said a Thailand-based conservationist group.

The run-of-the-river dam will operate year-round and produce 260 megawatts of electricity, mostly for domestic consumption.

In its notification, submitted to the mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat on September 30, Lao authorities provided a complete technical feasibility study, including social and environmental impact assessments and a fisheries study for the project, which will be shared with the other MRC member countries - Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Construction work is expected to start in November 2013 and finish by February 2018, with the dam set to begin operating in May 2018.

"Laos submitted the project as an intra-basin water use on the Hou Sahong channel under the process of notification. This will enable the member countries to foresee the project's water use and any impact stemming from this," said Hans Guttman, CEO of the MRC Secretariat.

Notification is a process required by the 1995 mekong Agreement for year-round intra-basin water-use projects and inter-basin diversion projects on the Mekong's tributaries, and for wet-season water use on the mainstream.

Lao Energy Vice Minister Viraphonh Viravong earlier told The Nation that the Don Sahong Dam is too small to cause any serious environmental impact on the mekong River. It would generate electricity only for local consumption in the southern region of the country. "In the Lao language, we call it 'hou' Sahong, meaning we put generators at a hole in the river to get electricity. We don't block the river to create a big reservoir," he said.

However, a group of Thailand-based conservationists yesterday called on Laos to stop the project.

"Laos is once again attempting to evade its responsibilities, while forcing the public in the whole region to pay for the immense damage that the Don Sahong Dam will cause," said Teerapong Pomun of Thailand's Living Rivers Siam Association. "Laos must cancel this project, along with the other mainstream dams, before it's too late."

In a 2007 review of the Don Sahong Dam's environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, the MRC stated that the project was subject to "prior consultation", as the dam is located on the mainstream since its inflow does not comes from a tributary. During an MRC Informal Donors Meeting held in June, 10 international donors, including the European Union, Japan and the US, asked the Lao government to share Don Sahong Dam's EIA report and submit the project for prior consultation.

"If the MRC fails to clamp down on Laos, it will be failing its mandate and will lose any validity they have left as an organisation," said Ame Trandem of the conservationist NGO International Rivers.

In addition to the Don Sahong Dam, 41 projects on the tributaries of the mekong have so far been submitted for the notification process - three in Cambodia, 17 in Laos, two in Thailand and 19 in Vietnam.

The Xayaburi Dam, which is now under construction, is the only one so far to have been proposed on the mainstream and therefore submitted for the prior consultation process.

~News courtesy of The Nation~

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
Lao People's Democratic Republic
老挝人民民主共和国

Lao vocabulary

Vocabulary

The Lao language consists primarily of native Lao words. Because of Buddhism, however, Pali has contributed numerous terms, especially relating to religion and in conversation with members of the Sangha. Due to their geographic proximity, Lao has influenced the Khmer and Thai languages and vice versa.

Formal writing has a larger amount of foreign loanwords, especially Pali and Sanskrit terms, much as Latin and Greek have influenced European languages. For politeness, pronouns (and more formal pronouns) are used, plus ending statements with ແດ່ (dè [dɛː]) or ເດີ້ (deu [dɤ̂ː]). Negative statements are made more polite by ending with ດອກ (dok [dɔ̭ːk]).

~Info courtesy of Wikipedia~

Champasak

Champasak

Champasak has a population of about 572,000 including lowland Lao, Khmers and many unique ethnic minority groups. The province is also famous for the production of Lao coffee, tea, rattan and other agricultural produce.

The bustling commercial center of Pakse is the capital town of Champasak. Founded as an administrative outpost by the French in 1905, Pakse retains much of its colonial legacy. The Champasak Historical Heritage Museum offers a good introduction to Lao culture, history and art. Perhaps the most famous building in Pakse is the Champasak Palace Hotel.

From Pakse, you can drive to Paksong on Bolaven Plateau, home to ethnic minority communities like the Alak and Katu. Travelling from the Mekong to over 1000 metres in altitude, you pass through teak plantations, abandoned rubber plantations, durrian, peach, and pear orchards, robusta and arabica coffee plantations (some people say that Lao coffee is the best in the world), tea plantations, then Saravane where cattle are raised. On the plateau is the serene Tat Lo waterfall and resort, where visitors can enjoy unspoiled nature and elephant ride through the forest. Several water fall drop over the escarpment. One of the most spectacular is Tat Phan with height of 120 metres.

Certainly the highlight of any visit to Champasak is the ancient Khmer temple of Wat Phu, located about 46 km south of Pakse along the Mekong River. Wat Phu is recognized as one of the most important Hindu sanctuaries of Cambodia’s Khmer Empire, which lasted from the 9th to 13rd centuries.

~~Info courtesy of Lao News Agency~~

Welcome to Champasak

History of Lao language

History of Lao language

Air Asia's advertisement in Lao

The Lao language is descended from Tai languages spoken in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam (probably by some of the various peoples referred to as the Baiyue) in areas believed to be the homeland of the language family and where several related languages are still spoken by scattered minority groups. 

 Due to Han Chinese expansion, Mongol invasion pressures, and a search for lands more suitable for wet-rice cultivation, the Tai peoples moved south towards India, down the Mekong River valley, and as far south as the Malay Peninsula. 

Oral history of the migrations is preserved in the legends of Khun Borom. Tai speakers in what is now Laos pushed out or absorbed earlier groups of Mon–Khmer and Austronesian languages.

Stop sign in Lao

~Info courtesy of Wikipedia~

泰寮第4友谊大桥 延后135天启用

泰寮第4友谊大桥 延后135天启用

清莱府泰寮第4座跨湄公河友谊大桥未能按期建成启用，将推迟正式启用135天，直到年底也能通车，但目前已能促进该地区两国边境贸易。清莱府高层官员指出，未能按期完工是技术上的原因。  

原订6月10日建成启用的清莱府泰寮第4座跨湄公河友谊大桥，由于施工进度迟缓，正式启用日期一拖再拖。该大标作为连接昆曼公路R3a路线的重要路段，据清莱府资深次长他瓦猜昨天（28日）透露，该大标启用日期已确定延后135天，即最快能在今年11- 12月期间正式通车。至于造成工期延迟的原因，主要是寮国方与该大桥相连接的两座铁桥目前完成80%的施工进度，而且受到水灾影响，导致已完成98%工作量的主大桥无法按期通车。  

他瓦猜指出，泰寮两国内阁决议，该大桥必须是在全部建成的状态下正式启用，使昆曼公路实现泰寮边境路段的顺畅连接。目前有两国在该大桥处的边境贸易往来，主要依靠桥下的渡轮。也有少量居民从大桥上步行过境。  

据悉，这座泰寮第4座跨湄公河友谊大桥共计投资14亿8650万铢进行建设，泰寮政府各出一半资金，并由中国铁路第5工程公司与泰国KRUNGTON工程公司联合建设，从2010年6月11日开始施工，原订去年12月10日建成启用，但因各方预算未到位等原因，工期出现拖延。这座大桥跨越湄公河部分长约480米，有4座桥墩插入湄公河中，桥上路面宽14.7米，分为两个车道。  

清莱府清孔县海关官员颂拉猜指出，清孔县去年的泰寮边境口岸双边贸易额为120亿铢，今年头9个月双边贸易额已突破100亿铢，预计全年可望达到140亿铢。而泰寮第4座跨湄公河友谊大桥泰方的边贸口岸和海关办事处目前也尚未建成。

～以上新闻转载自世界日报～

Vietnam steps up investments in Laos

Vietnam steps up investments in Laos

Online Trade and Investment Portal and Consulate General of Lao will hold a workshop in Champasak Province in Laos to introduce a Trade, Tourism and Investment Program from July 22-26, to tap the rich potential market in Laos.



The leaders sign cooperation plans (photo:SGGP)

According to ITPC, Laos is a potential market with rich mineral resources, besides having a common border with Vietnam along ten provinces stretching across 2,067 kilometers.

In the past few years, Vietnam has been investing in Laos and has become the second largest investor in Lao after China.

However, in the commercial sector, Vietnamese goods have not expanded as expected with limited representative agencies in Laos.

To overcome this disadvantage, ITPC will constantly hold investment promotion programs so that Vietnamese goods can access the Laos market and increase exports.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Seng Aroun Hotel - Pakse

13 Road, Pakse.

Thailand pushes for train project in Laos

Thailand pushes for train project in Laos

Thailand has offered to convene a meeting with Laos and China on the high-speed train project linking the three countries, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Sunday.



The Thai and Lao ministers led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, fifth right, and Lao Premier Thongsing Thammavong, fourth right, shake hands during the joint cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai province on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Government House)

The proposal, tabled in talks between the Thai and Lao cabinets, underlines Thailand's concern about a delay to the project on the Lao side which could be a setback on the regional plan to build a railroad link.

Ms Yingluck said after meeting with Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and his cabinet ministers that the host had relayed the delay concern to Laos.

Thailand will build four high-speed train lines, one of them from Bangkok to Nong Khai province. It will be linked to a train route from southern China to Vientiane, the Lao capital. The first phase of the Nong Khai train will be laid to Nakhon Ratchasima province. 

China has offered to build the train project in Laos but it is being delayed because of unsettled details about Chinese support.

Ms Yingluck did not go into details of the proposed meeting but deputy government spokesman Chalitrat Chandrubeksa said Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt would have a key role in arranging the meeting on the tracks and train carriages to be used for the project.

The two governments also agreed to tackle narcotics, bolster trade and investment on Roads 8 and 12 in Laos, fight human trafficking and speed up border demarcation.

The two roads in Laos are connected to Thailand via the Mekong River bridge in Nakhon Phanom province.

Thailand upgraded the Phudu crossing in Ban Khok district of Uttaradit province from a temporary to a permanent checkpoint on Sunday to coincide with the meeting of the cabinets, the Thai News Agency reported.

The checkpoint in the northern province links Thailand with Laos' Xayabouri province. About 100,000 tourists used the pass, and trade totalled about 250 million baht, a year when it was a temporary checkpoint open only on Fridays and Saturdays.

Uttaradit governor Chalermchai Fuengkhon predicted trade and tourism would jump after the checkpoint was allowed to operate every day after the opening ceremony at the border on Sunday.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

High-speed rail network a high investment for Laos

Proposed high-speed rail network a high investment for Laos

High-speed railway lines connecting Thailand, Laos and China might soon become a reality after the Thai cabinet met with its Lao counterparts in Chiang Mai earlier this week.

The proposal would have a major impact on the region as there is currently only vehicle crossing from ASEAN countries into China.

Both governments are planning to spend billions on countrywide railroad infrastructure.

But in Laos, the plan will be nothing short of radical as the country's rail networks are practically non-existent.

The proposed massive rail projects will require loans totalling over half of the country's GDP, which was US$8.3 billion in 2011, according to the World Bank.

Chadchart Sittipunt, Thailand's transport minister, said: "I think the key message for Laos will be how to create value for this high-speed train for Laos. I think we need to talk because I think there will be a lot of investment for Laos. But how will they create value from this big investment? If they can do it, it will be a good connection between Kunming (China), Laos, and Thailand."

Rail links are not a surefire benefit to Laos' economy.

Nevertheless, Vientiane's ambition to transform the landlocked country into an integrated regional player is gaining support from its neighbours.

Last year the Thai government agreed to finance a US$55 million project to build a short railway line bridging Laos' capital with Thailand's Nong Khai province, while it plans its own railway overhaul to be completed in 2020 at a cost of US$69.6 billion.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Salavan Province

Lao - Cambodian Border (Lao side)

Lao - Cambodian Border (Lao checkpoint)

寮国 - 柬埔寨边界 （寮国关卡）

Savannakhet

Savannakhet

'No obstacle' to Laos-China rail link

'No obstacle' to Laos-China rail link

There are "no obstacles" to Laos' planned high-speed rail link from China, the country's transport minister was quoted as saying Thursday, days after the Asian Development Bank called the project "unaffordable" for the developing country.

Construction on the seven billion dollar, 421 kilometre, Chinese-Lao railway "would begin shortly after all parties had reached an agreement and all preparations were complete," the Vientiane Times quoted Minister of Public Works and Transport Sommath Pholsena as saying.

The ADB called for caution, noting the cost was 80% of Laos' annual national budget.

"For the Asian Development Bank and many others, the cost is unaffordable for Laos to take on, even at very concessional rates," the international lender's Thailand director Craig Steffensen said Tuesday.

Sommath said the precise details relating to funding and a start date for the project are yet to be agreed.

Laos is to finance the scheme with a loan from China's EXIM Bank of China.

The planned railway would run from Luang Namtha on the Laos-China border to Vientiane, with a standard-gauge track of 1.435 metres, and a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour (kph), less than the 200 kph initially planned.

The line will require 76 tunnels and 154 bridges, including two across the Mekong River, and 31 stations.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

Sabaidee bii mai

Sabaidee bii mai
Happy new year!
新年快乐!

Thai-Lao meet to mull border links

Thai-Lao meet to mull border links

Thailand and Laos will hold talks over cross-border railway links and the introduction of a single visa during a joint cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai next month.

The meeting will take place on May 19 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Water Summit.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisulit agreed on the arrangements at the 18th Thai-Lao Joint Commission meeting in Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday.

Mr Surapong said the joint cabinet meeting would be an unofficial one and only related ministers from both countries will attend.

It would be the second Thai-Lao cabinet meeting after the first one was held eight years ago.

Ministers from both countries would discuss cross-border transport of goods, a railway linkage from Thailand via Laos to China, and the introduction of a single visa.

Thailand was ready to develop the railway and would like Laos to hold talks about the issue with China, the minister said.

Border demarcation between the nations is now 93% complete, and will be discussed by senior officials early next month before going to the Joint Boundary Committee meeting in August, Mr Surapong said.

Mr Thongloun said the border problem was a sensitive issue which must be handled carefully.

"It might take time to tackle because the land and water borders are quite long, but I believe the negotiations will come out in a good way," Mr Thongloun said.

Mr Surapong said the countries are planning to upgrade the two temporary border checkpoints at Ban Phudu in Uttaradit province and Ban Huay in Phu Sang district of Phayao province to permanent checkpoints while the process of crossing the border will also be relaxed.

He said Laos is encouraging Thais to invest in the country. Thai investment currently ranks third in Laos after China and Vietnam's.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

泰寮拟实行单一签证

泰寮拟实行单一签证

泰国外交部部长素拉蓬今天（3日）表示，泰国和寮国目前正在考虑实行单一签证政策，具体细则将在下月举行的两国联合内阁会议上讨论。  

素拉蓬当天在泰国华欣参加泰寮联合委员会会议时说，定于下月下旬在泰国北部清迈举行的联合内阁会议上将讨论泰寮单一签证政策的签署和实施，此外还将讨论促进跨境货物运输、修建第5座友谊大桥、简化边境出入境手续等问题，以促进两国间贸易往来。双方还定于下月初开会商讨两国边界划分问题。寮国外交部长通伦表示，相信双方能够共同解决这一问题。目前泰寮有17%的边界线尚未划分。  

泰国与柬埔寨单一签证协议27日开始生效，包括中国在内的35个国家和地区的公民可以凭单一签证进入泰柬两国。泰柬单一签证的实施是「伊洛瓦底江、湄南河及湄公河经济合作战略」（ACMECS）框架的一部分。 ACMECS成员国包括泰国、柬埔寨、寮国、缅甸和越南。在这5个东盟国家之间实现类似欧盟申根签证的单一签证政策是ACMECS的重要目标之一。

～以上新闻转载自世界日报～

Vietnam-Laos highway link road inaugurated

Vietnam-Laos highway link road inaugurated

The Vietnam-Laos highway link road was officially inaugurated at a ceremony held at the international border of Panghok in Phongsaly Province yesterday, February 24.

The 68.2 kilometer highway road links Khoa District in Phongsaly Province in Laos to Tay Trang border gate in Dien Bien Province in Vietnam. The project was financed by the Vietnamese government at a total cost of US$43 million.

Attending the inaugural ceremony were Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad and other high ranking officials of the two countries.

In his speech, Dep. PM Phuc highlighted the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation relations between the two countries.

He also stressed that the National Highway was of great strategic importance for both Vietnam and Laos, enhancing trade between the northwestern provinces of Vietnam and the northern provinces of Laos in particular.

Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad said that the National Highway was of great importance for the socio-economic growth of Laos.

He said this important road would contribute to improving infrastructure and help link Laos to other countries in the region.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Laos, Myanmar begin bridge

Laos, Myanmar begin bridge

Laos and Myanmar have begun the construction of the first bridge to link their countries, and expect to complete it in 2015.

The building of the Laos-Myanmar Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River between Laos' Luang Namtha province and Shan state in Myanmar was launched after the two countries held a ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday, The Vientiane Times reported on Monday.

The construction cost is US$18 million (540 million baht) and the two governments aim to use it to boost trade and investment, and enhance cooperation.

Luang Namtha governor Phimmasone Leuangkhamma, Lao Public Works and Transport Minister Sommad Pholsena and Myanmar's Construction Minister Kyaw Lwin presided over the ceremony.

The bridge will be 690 metres long and 10 metres wide and will have two vehicle lanes and two sidewalks. Construction of the bridge will take 30 months to complete.

Xaysongkham Manotham, director of the Laos-Myanmar Friendship Bridge Project, said the bridge will be a new symbol of cooperation, relations and solidarity between the two countries.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

Pakse by the Mekong River 百色湄公河

Lao countryside 寮国乡野

5th Thai-Lao bridge planned

5th Thai-Lao bridge planned

Plans for construction of a 5th Thai-Lao friendship bridge across the Mekong River, between Bung Kan province of Thailand and Pak Sane town of Bolikhamxai province if Laos, will be raised for discussion when Transport Minister Chadchat Suttipunt visits Laos on Feb 21.

Mr Chadchat said he will meet Vietiane's Minister of Communications, Transport, Post and Construction, Sommat Phonsena, and discuss the bridge plan.

The proposed bridge would not only connect the transport networks in the region but also boost the expansion of trade and investment between neighbouring countries.

The Highway Department is making a feasibility study of the Bung Kan - Pak Sane bridge, which would cost an estimated two billion baht, he said.

About 40 million baht would be set aside for the design of the bridge, with construction expected to begin in 2016 if agreement is reached.

There are now four Thai - Lao friendship bridges linking Nong Khai - Vientiane, Mukdahan - Savannakhet, Nakhon Phanom - Khammouane, and Chiang Khong - Huay Sai. The fourth expected to be opened in the middle of this year.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

Beer Lao

Pa That Luang Temple - Vientiane

廊开口岸设立东盟通道检查口

廊开口岸设立东盟通道检查口

廊开府【Nongkhai】泰-寮第一座友谊桥出入境检查站将安装国际化高科技CCTV监视器系统，为提高出入境口岸人流检查的效率，加强监控和缉拿刑事犯罪分子。同时还设立「东盟通道」特别检查窗口，为东盟成员国民众提供快速便利通关服务。  

国家警察总署副总长讪迪警中将昨天（29日）视察廊开府泰-寮第一友谊大桥出入境口岸，并与当地移民局官员开会，以改善出入境口岸工作系统。据悉，每年有大量游客通过该府泰-寮两国第一座友谊桥出入境，因此出入境检查站点的人员检查工作系统则为重中之重，除了能最大程度为游客提供便利、快速、及时的手续外，还需要防范刑事犯罪分子逃出境入境。  

该检查站点宣布将运用国际先进科技装置CCTV检查系统，并将设置「东盟通道」特别窗口，为持有东盟国家单一签证的游客提供快速通关服务。此外，将培训及提高工作人员的工作效益，为迎接东盟经济共同体的到来做准备。根据泰寮两国第一座友谊桥出入境数据统计，去年每天有1万3300人、2200辆车通过该大桥，同时有20艘船载客通过该口岸。

～以上新闻转载自世界日报～

Happy new year 2013

Happy new year 2013
新年快乐
Sabaidee pii mai