The government of Japan has granted more than 340 billion kip through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve a 58km stretch of National Road No. 9.
Mr Laokham Sompheth ( right ) shakes hands with Mr Keigo Konno after signing the agreement.
The section to be repaired runs from the Xeno area in Outhoumphone district to Xepon district in Savannakhet province.
An agreement for the project was signed at a ceremony in Vientiane yesterday between Director General of the Road and Bridge Department Mr Laokham Sompheth and a representative from Oriental Consultants Company Mr Keigo Konno.
Head of the Savannakhet provincial Public Works and Transport Deparment Dr Sengthong Vangkeomany said National Road No. 9 has suffered serious damage from heavy vehicles and overuse.
“We have tried repairing this road but could not stop the damage reoccurring so it needs an extensive renovation,” he explained. The road runs for 242km from Kaysone Phomvihane district to Xepon district in Savannakhet province, and provides an important economic link between Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, Dr Sengthong said.
From October 2010 to February 2011, JICA sent a team of experts from the Oriental Consultants Company and International Development Centre of Japan to survey and collect information for the road upgrade.
After the study was completed, plans were submitted to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport for approval in June this year.
Work will begin in April 2012 and be completed in June 2015.
Road improvements are part of the government's plan to develop basic infrastructure nationwide and remove Laos from the UN's list of least developed countries by 2020.
