Experts back PPP investment schemes in Laos
Experts back PPP investment schemes in Laos
A number of local and foreign experts have expressed strong support for Laos to develop Public Private Partnership (PPP) guidelines as one of the measures to boost investment in larger development projects in the country.
The experts made the comment yesterday at a workshop on PPPs aiming to address issues for their development in Laos and discuss how to refine the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA)'s PPP guidelines in South East Asia.
According to a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Laos considered PPP as one of the important tools to boost investment in public infrastructure such as road building. However, there are no guidelines on how to implement the new mode of project investment.
Speaking at the workshop the Director of the Project Development Division, Department of Energy Business under the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Akhomdeth Vongsay, said PPP was suitable for Laos because it is situated amongst neighbouring countries where demand for electricity is steadily increasing.
“Laos is investable by the private sector, especially in the hydroelectric industry,” he said.
Laos and Thailand agreed to sell and buy up to 7,000 MW of electricity by 2020 and Laos has reached agreement with Vietnam for 3,000 MW which is planned to increase to 5,000 MW, according to Mr Akhomdeth.
A series of PPP technical workshops ‘Towards a tailored approach to establishing PPP guidelines in South East Asia' brought together leading international experts as well as government officials, representatives from the private sector and academics from each Asean country.
Director General of the National Economic Research Institute (NERI) Dr Leeber Leebouapao and General Manager of the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) Mr Yasushi Iwata co-chaired the workshop.
Participants from line ministries, the private sector and academia in Laos heard about the basic understanding of PPP and the current situation in Laos.
The gathering of participants was also used as a platform to build a network among academics concerned with PPP in Laos.
In the past several years there have been a number of successful developments using public private partnership investment schemes in the construction of hydropower plants, including the Nam Theun 2 project.
A feasibility study to upgrade Road No. 13 North from Vientiane to Vangvieng and Road No. 13 South from Vientiane to Pakxan in Borikhamxay province is also under a PPP scheme backed by the World Bank.
vientiane times
