New terminal for Vientiane's southern bus station
New terminal for Vientiane's southern bus station
The southern bus station in Vientiane will soon move to a new location in a bid to ease traffic congestion and prepare for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year.
The site of the new bus station is about 700m from the present one on the 450 Year Road in Saphangmeuk village, Xaythany district.
The Southern Bus Station's Office Head Mr Sinxay Sisouk told Vientiane Times that relocation of the station will help reduce traffic congestion in that area.
He said construction of new station began at the end of 2014 and is expected to be finished within this year.
“Work on the construction is now about 20 percent complete and we will move in as soon as it is finished,” he said.
We have already prepared all the documentation required to complete the move, Mr Sinxay added.
The existing station will be transferred to a private company but actually we still have four more years of concession on it. We don't have any idea what the company plans to do with the existing station, he said.
The new station will be more modern than the old one in terms of facilities, service and the transport system in order to provide more buses and give better service to the continually growing number of passengers.
The new station will be a two storey building situated in the central part of the lot, with the bus terminals behind the building and customer parking in front.
The Southern bus station began operations in 2004 and currently provides around 50 buses from different companies travelling to southern destinations.
The number of VIP buses at the station is increasing constantly, because it is more convenient and saves travel time, and there are currently between 10 and 20 operating from the station, the exact number depending on the time of year and what special events are happening.
To prepare for the start of the AEC, the new station plans to provide buses travelling direct to more neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, while at the moment there are services only to Vietnam.
This will provide more convenience for passengers who want to travel to neighbouring countries by bus and help grow tourism in the country as well, Mr Sinxay said.
