Logistics Infrastructure 

Road transport is still the preferred mode of transportation, and it is believed that in the foreseeable future, road transport will continue to dominate both freight and passenger traffic. Major transport routes follow the north-south pattern in accordance with the distribution of the population, and with major East-West links to neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar.. In 2015, the countries of Lao PDR, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam all officially approved and implemented the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA). The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) during the period leading up to March 2018. Temporary Admission Documents (TADs) allow registered, owned, and/or operated goods and passenger vehicles from a specific country to freely travel on any route and cross any border crossing specified in CBTA Protocol 1. Lao PDR will first restrict transportation into and out of the country to the Boten, Huayxay, Dansavanh, and Savannakhet border checkpoints located along national Routes 3, 9, and 13. Road transport currently carries 78% of passenger traffic (passenger/kilometre) and 96% of freight traffic (ton/kilometer) (MPI Statistics Yearbook 2022, Lao PDR). The Mekong River and its tributaries carry the remaining share of freight (3.73%) along with only 1.62% share of passenger traffic. The volume of airfreight is 0.01% and domestic passenger air transport has reached 1.54% of the demand and plays a crucial role in linking urban areas and otherwise inaccessible parts of the country.  A 3.5 km rail link, extending from Nongkai, Thailand to Thanaleng, Vientiane Capital, was opened to traffic in March 2009 - even though it is a very small rail link, it connects with the Thai Railway Network, enabling Lao rail transportation to deep-water seaports in Thailand and beyond. The Lao Thai friendship bridges were constructed to establish a transportation link between Laos and Thailand in a crucial corridor. A 422km high-speed Lao-China rail link from Vientiane Capital to Boten on the Chinese border, with multiple stations along the route, is opened in December 2021. In the first 3 months, the Lao-China railway carried more than 1.7 million passengers and 1.1 million tons of cargo and shared 1.64% of the passenger transport. The implementation of the Laos-China railway, which intersects with the Laos-Thailand railway at the dry port - Laos' comprehensive logistics project - has converted landlocked Laos into a country connected by land routes. The newly opened Vientiane-Vang Vieng 109 km dual carriage expressway has reduced travel time to 1 hour (toll fees are applied along the route) compared to 2-3 hours on the previous route via Route 13. A proposed 137km extension from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang is being considered.  

National government activities in the transport sector are undertaken primarily by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT). Divisions in MPWT with operational responsibilities are the Department of Civil Aviation, Department of Inland Waterways, Department of Public Works and Transport (DPWT), Department of Roads (DOR), Department of Transport (DOT), and the Railway Authority. The Department for Planning and Cooperation in MPWT is responsible for overall management of development assistance programs. Traffic enforcement is undertaken by the Traffic Police Department (TPD) in the Ministry of Public Security. Urban roads are the responsibility of urban development administration authorities, which are responsible to their provincial governments and, in the case of the Vientiane Urban Development Administration Authority, to Vientiane Prefecture. The Ministry of Finance continues to play a major role in financing transport sector activities through the national budget. A division of DPWT is located in each of the country’s 18 provinces. Each DPWT reports to the governor of the province, with MPWT also providing direction, guidance, and support. DPWTs are, in turn, supported by an office of public works and transport (OPWT) in each district centre in a province 

Source: www.lsb.gov.la  – ສູນສະຖິຕິແຫ່ງຊາດ