Infrastructure
Rural latrine access on the rise, government finds
The Ministry of Rural Development on 13 November announced that more than half of Cambodians now have access to improved sanitation such as latrines. According to the ministry’s statement, 47 per cent of Cambodians now lack access to improved sanitation, compared to 89 per cent in 1990. The ...
Mekong nations launch Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework
The Mekong River has always been an important trade route between Western China and Southeast Asia flowing through six different countries. The six foreign ministers met for the first time to frame a cooperation mechanism, agreeing to launch significant projects to enhance water resources, public health, ...
China, Laos to build $6.3 bln railway project by 2020
China aims to complete laying a 418-kilometre (260-mile) railway from a border town to Laos by 2020, the official China Economic Herald reported, as the economic giant seeks a new route into the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. The two countries agreed on 13 November to jointly ...
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 ...
Setting the right price for investors
Subscription to the initial public offering of Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) opened on 12 November. The capital’s port operator aims to raise $5.2 million by floating a 20 per cent stake on the Cambodian stock exchange in December, becoming the third company to list on ...
Vietnam plans Hanoi-Vientiane highway project: report
Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has started a feasibility study on a 760-kilometer highway to connect Hanoi and Vientiane, local media reported on 11 November. The study conducted by Transport Engineering Design Inc. will help decide whether the route should pass through Nghe An or Ha Tinh, two central ...
Cambodia’s energy policy out of balance: WEC
Expensive and unreliable electricity continues to weigh down Cambodia’s ranking on the UN-accredited World Energy Council’s annual Energy Trilemma Index, according to a report released on 11 November. The Kingdom ranked a low 115 out of 130 countries on the annual index, which assesses countries according ...
Nam Theun 2 dam generates funds for poverty reduction
The Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant, one of the largest in Laos, has generated sizeable revenue for the government and contributed to the alleviation of poverty, according to the International Environmental and Social Panel of Experts. The Nam Theun 2 Panel of Experts released its latest ...
Overpass mulled as solution to Vientiane's traffic snarls
Officials are wrestling with the problem of identifying a long-term solution to Vientiane’s chronic traffic jams and some are suggesting that an overpass might ease the situation. While no such scheme currently exists, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to imagine that overpasses will ...
Ho Chi Minh City eyes $380mln of loans for waterway expansion
Ho Chi Minh City has asked for the central government’s help in taking out loans worth around US$380 million for a major dredging program to deepen one of its key waterways, local media reported on 9 November. The Soai Rap, a tributary of the Saigon River, ...
