Socio-economic development in Xayaboury shows steady growth
Socio-economic development in Xayaboury shows steady growth
The pace of socio-economic development in Xayaboury province is growing, up by 9.39 percent in the last six months of this year, representing a Gross Domestic Product of in excess of four trillion kip.
This figure is rising compared to the same period last year, when growth was 8.5 percent and provincial GDP totalled 3.9 trillion kip.
Many factors have contributed to this growth, which has been lead by the services sector, which represents 30 percent of the province's GDP, an increase of 10 percent.
This is followed by the industrial sector (31 percent of GDP) which increased by nine percent and the agricultural sector (39 percent of GDP) which went up 3.2 percent.
This information was relayed recently by the Director of the provincial Planning and Investment Department, Mr Bounluan Somsihapanya, to Mr Somdy Duangdy, the Minister of Planning and Investment, while he and his delegation were in Xayaboury for a short working visit. Mr Bounluan also said that goods exports had reached US$17.1 million, while imports had dropped to US$13.3 million.
In 2012-2013, in terms of investment, the government approved 214 projects for the province at a total cost of 54.66 billion kip of which 43.66 billion kip was to come from domestic investors and the rest from overseas.
For the first six months of the current fiscal year, an estimated 34 billion kip in funding for 109 projects had already been raised, representing 60 percent of the year's plans and of which 21.33 billion kip came from domestic investors and the rest from foreign investment.
The rapid growth in Xayaboury has been made possible thanks to basic infrastructure development in recent years, thereby making the area more attractive to private investors.
Infrastructure improvement has included improving the water supply, installing electricity, building schools and hospitals, expanding hotels and restaurants as well as improving road access, with the aim of increasing foreign investment and attracting more tourists.
vientiane times
