Investment in Vientiane industrial zone surges
Investment in Vientiane industrial zone surges
Local and foreign investment is on the rise at a major industrial park in Vientiane, the Khoksa-ath Industrial Zone in Xaythany district.
“The zone now contains 31 factories with an investment value of about 300 billion kip (US$37.5 million),” an official at the zone management office said on Tuesday.
The factories produce steel, cement, furniture, white charcoal, and silicon.
Until recently the zone, which covers about 1,300 hectares, had only 20 factories, the zone management office reported in 2010.
“We are currently in negotiations with about 10 more potential investors in Laos, China and Europe. We are waiting for approval from the government for further investment in the zone that will bring in millions of dollars,” the official said.
“We are in the process of redistributing and allocating land at sites where their factories and offices will be located.”
“We are also designing a wastewater treatment system. We hope to source private investment to build the system because the government cannot provide the necessary budget,” he added.
He suggested that the best scenario would be for a company to team up with a sector of government to develop the system, or for an individual investor to take on the project.
“An investor could charge factories a fee for use of the treatment system,” he said.
The zone management office reported in 2010 that the system is one of several projects that must be developed between now and 2015. The system must be of a high standard and the treated water must be clean so it can be discharged into streams or rivers.
The report also noted that local residents must be relocated to make way for new factories, and a water supply, roads, a railway and canals must be built.
The factories already in the zone do not use much water. At present each factory has its own treatment system.
The government began planning the zone in 1995 and officially announced its intention to set aside the area for industrial use in 2005.
vientiane times
