Investment in Vientiane industrial zone surges

Investment in Vientiane industrial zone surges

Local and foreign investment is on the rise at the Khoksa-ath Industrial Zone in Xaythany district, one of Vientiane's major industrial parks.

“The zone now contains 35factories with an investment valu e of about 350 billion kip (US$45 million),” a zone m anagement official said on Friday.

The factories produce steel, cement, furniture, white charcoal, silicon, bitumen, concrete products and roof tiles.

In 2010, the 1,300ha zone had just 20 factories, according to the zone management office. That number had risen to 31 factories with a value of about 300 billion kip (US$37.5) by October last year.

The official said many local and foreign companies were still expressing interest in investing in the zone and establishing their production there, offering millions of dollars more for the area.

“We are in the process of redistributing and allocating land at sites where their factories and offices will be located,” he said.

According to a zone management office report, local residents must be relocated to make way for new factories, and water supply infrastructure, roads, a railway and canals still need to be built.

The zone management office also plans to build a wastewater treatment system, and hopes to source private funding for the project as the government cannot stump up the necessary cash.

“To build the system, there must be at least 100 factories in the zone. Otherwise the investment will not be worth it,” the official said.

He suggested the best scenario would be for a company to team up with a government sector to develop the system, or for an individual investor to take on the project.

Currently a wastewater system has not been designed, as it must be developed by the investor or the contractor who will operate the treatment service.

“An investor could charge factories a fee for use of the treatment system,” the official said.

The zone management office reported in 2010 wastewater was one of several projects that must be developed before 2015.

Any wastewater treatment system must be of a high standard and the treated water must be clean so it can be released into streams or rivers.

The factories already in the zone do not use much water, and each 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