| GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS!
Laos mined and exported 10.11 million grammes of gold last year, an increase of 6.85 million over 2004, and foreign investment in gold, tin, copper and coal mining is welcome.
Director General of the Department of Geology and Mines, Thongpath Inthavong, on a road show to promote Laos mining opportunities, said that mining will contribute up to 10% of the nation’s gross domestic product this year.
There are currently 137 mining concessions of which 46 were held by foreign companies, but Mr Inthavong warned that the Laos government was serious about environmental impact.
“We have strictly implemented environmental laws to preserve our natural resources. All mining projects must be certified with environment impact assessment studies” he said.
Thailand, already a great consumer of Laos-generated electricity, also needs raw materials to support industrial growth and the head of Thailand’s Mineral Resources Department has welcomed the relaxation of Laos regulations governing foreign investment.
MONTH-LONG LAOS VISAS
The period of stay of visas-on-arrival has been doubled from 2 weeks to a month.
Designed to further boost the growing tourism of Laos (up by 22% in 2005), the fee stays the same at US$30.
Overland Thai-Laos tourism gets another boost in December when the second Mekong River bridge between the nations is opened between Mukdaharn province in Thailand and Suvannakhet in Laos. The US$69 million project was partly financed by Japan.
LAO AIRLINES UPGRADES
Lao Airlines has upgraded its domestic and international flight services by acquiring 2 new aircraft from China.
The aim is to provide better and more convenient services for Laotians to travel and communicate across the country. Last month, a ceremony was held to launch the new MA60 aircraft from China, each with a 56-passenger capacity.
Routes are now available from Luang Prabang to Hanoi,
Champassak, Siem Reap and Hanoi, as well as between Bangkok, Vientiane, Pakse and Phnom Penh.
Under co-operative relations between Laos and China, the MA60’s were bought from the Xian Aircraft Industry Company of China and funded by loans from the Laos and Chinese governments. Both are powered by PW 127 J turbo-prop engines made by Pratt and Whitney of Canada and can cruise at 514 kph. Four more are due to arrive this month.
More passengers, too!
The third conference to promote tourism development in Laos was chaired in Vientiane late last month by Mr Somphong Mongkhounvilay, Minister to the Prime Minister’s office and Chairman of the National Tourism Authority.
According to Mr Somphong over 800 million tourists travelled around the world in 2005 and spent over US$640 billion. Over 150 million tourists visited the Asia-Pacific region, generating more than US$130 billion, while ASEAN countries welcomed 50 million tourists.
The Laos government has regulated development at cultural, natural and historical tourism sites.Increased attention had been paid to improving and building infrastructure, including roads, electricity, water supplies and communications systems.
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