More than a thousand furniture plants ordered to shut down
The government has ordered some 1,154 family-unit furniture plants across the country to shut down their illegal operations, a government spokesman announced on September 1. Additionally, more than 20 wood processing plants located in or near conservation and protected forests areas were also ordered to close down. The order was approved at the meeting between Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his deputies that took place on August 29 when the Task Force Committee reported about its findings in relation to the illegal operations. The spokesman Dr. Chaleun Yiapaoher warned the operators of the plants to abide by the government’s order, which came into effect on September 1 as he made a public announcement about the order during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office.
