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Construction work on a new road that will cut Vientiane-Luang Prabang travel time significantly has been suspended in some areas because of wet season conditions, according to a project authority.

The road is being built between Kasy district in Vientiane province and Nan district in Luang Prabang province.
The new road will pass through mountainous terrain.

Head of the project's Kasy-Nan Road Construction Division, Mr Khammoun Vongvilaxay said last Friday that the project had been suspended in some areas of hilly terrain between the two districts until September.

“However, we are continuing asphalt paving work on a 5km section between the Namkheng area and Kasy district town, and have already completed 3km of it. We will try to complete the remaining 2km when the rain lets up for a few days,” he said.

He added that the project will continue construction work on bridges and drainage systems along the road.

The construction of the road, which passes through mountainous terrain, began in January 2009 and is set for completion in January 2013. At present the 68km long, 7m wide road is about 48 percent complete, he said.

“During the last dry season, our construction vehicles were able to drive from Kasy to Nan in around 2 hours, but this rainy season will cause some landsli des which will obstruct construction in some mountainous areas,” he said . He added that although construction vehicles can make the two-hour trip along the new road, public vehicles are still forbidden access for safety reasons.

The drive from Vientiane to Luang Prabang will be about four hours shorter when the new road is built, he said. The new road will include 10 bridges.

Last week, Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh and his team inspected the construction site whilst visiting areas in the province that were hit by a tropical storm on July 17 and 18.

When the road is finished, the journey from Kasy to Luang Prabang will only take an hour. At present, the trip via Phoukhoun district on Road No. 13 North takes four or five hours.

The current travel time for the whole Vientiane to Luang Prabang journey is about eight or nine hours.

Travellers who enjoy the scenery on the existing route through Phoukhoun district need not be concerned; it is said to be just as beautiful as on the new route.

The project, which will cost more than 509 billion kip (US$60 million) in total, is fully funded by the government.
It is believed that the new road, once complete, will boost economic growth through the provision of better transport services.

 

 

 
Source: VTE TIMES
By Panyasith Thammavongsa
(Latest Update August 4 , 2010)