TK Group to develop trade and service point in Borikhamxay
TK Group to develop trade and service point in Borikhamxay
Borikhamxay provincial authorities have authorised a local private company to conduct a feasibility study on the construction of a trade and service point in Kuay-oudom village, Pakxan district.
The proposed project is located on 74 hectares of land near the planned fifth Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River in Borikhamxay province.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed recently between provincial Planning and Investment Department Deputy Director Mr Sonthong Vibounkuang and President of the TK Group Mr Thatnakhone Thammavong.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by provincial Deputy Governor Mr Bounseng Pathammavong.
According to the department, the trade and service development project is part of the province's socio-economic development plan.
Provincial authorities have divided the development plan into three sections: the processing industry, cross-border transportation, and trade and services.
They previously signed an MoU for the construction of a cross-border transportation point and the project is currently handling the process of land compensation.
The MoU signed with the TK Group allows the construction of a warehouse and goods transportation system, duty free shop, fee collection service, border crossing services for vehicles and people, a hotel, and restaurants.
The project will be located about 140km from Vientiane and 13km from Borikhamxay provincial capital.
Under the MoU, the company will pay for the collection of information on social and economic concerns, conduct an economic feasibility study, and calculate economic repayments.
If studies confirm that the project is viable, the company will go ahead with the development as planned.
The feasibility study will take about 180 days after the signing of the MoU.
The authorities will continue to seek an investor to develop another processing industry point in the future to fulfil the development plan near the bridge, said Mr Sonthong.
It is expected that the fifth Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River in Borikhamxay province will be built in the coming years.
Once completed, the bridge will offer a major transport route between Thailand and several cities in Vietnam.
Coming from Thailand's Bueng Kan province, vehicles will travel around 150km to reach Nge An province in Vietnam via Lao National Highway No. 8 in Borikhamxay province.
In Nge An, the route then links up with roads to Hanoi, Danang and other parts of Vietnam.
The new bridge will also further open up northern Lao provinces such as Xieng Khuang and Huaphan to tourists from Thailand.
The bridge will likely provide a further boost to Borikhamxay's already fast-growing economy.
Currently, there are four Lao-Thai Friendship Bridges across the Mekong. The first connects Vientiane to Thailand's Nong Khai province and the second connects Savannakhet province and Mukdahan province in Thailand.
The third bridge connects Khammuan province with Thailand's Nakhon Phanom and the fourth links Bokeo province in the north of Laos with Chiang Rai province in Thai land.
The fourth bridge links Xienglab Township in Thachilek district of Myanmar's Shan State with Xiengkok village in Long district, Luang Namtha province.
