The government has approved 2,955 investment projects for 2007-2008, in sectors ranging from agriculture to welfare, according to the President of the Committee for Planning and Investment, Mr Soulivong Daravong.
He reported at the 3 rd Session of the 6 th Legislature of the National Assembly last week that the total budget for investment projects would be around 3.2 trillion kip, of which the government plans to contribute about 655 billion kip, with the rest to be drawn from foreign sources. Â
According to Mr Soulivong, the Ministry of Communication, Transport, Post and Construction will take the largest share of the investment funds, at 38.1 percent, with projects focusing on the construction of roads to help the country's transition from a landlocked to a ‘landlinked' country.
The ministry of communication will continue to work on the construction of the R3 road linking Bangkok , Thailand , to Kunming in China . It will devise strategies to improve navigation along the Mekong River and traffic on national roads, and continue the construction of the 3.5-km railway from Laos to Thailand . The ministry will also establish transport associations in Oudomxay, Bokeo, Luang Namtha and Vientiane provinces.
The Ministry of Education, which will take the second-largest investment share of 16.6 percent of the total, will focus its investments on education reform, to create more opportunities for people to access education services, especially in remote areas.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, with a 9.2 percent share, will focus its work on the improvement of food production and job creation, to give local people alternatives to slash and burn cultivation and to protect the environment.
The Ministry of Information and Culture, which will take a 6.4 percent share of the investments, will emphasise the expansion of the country's television and radio networks, to cover larger areas of the country.
The Ministry of Public Health, which gets 4.4 percent of the total investment, will focus on better conditions for access to public health services. A priority will be reproductive health and the health of mothers and children.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines, with a 3.5 percent share, will develop the electricity grid and the mining sector, aiming for a growth rate of 11 percent compared to last year. The total in exports of these products is estimated to reach US$1 billion.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, which has 2.4 percent of the total investment funds, will develop regulations relating to welfare for retired officials. It will also focus on training young people who have finished secondary school, to give them skills to enter the job market or work legally in foreign countries.
Other government sectors will also receive 19 percent of the total investment funds.
Mr Soulivong said the government planned to continue its efforts to strengthen the national economy in parallel with social development and the protection of the environment.
He said the government would create equal, transparent and secure investment conditions for investors, with a particular focus on the promotion of small and medium enterprises.
He added that the government also planned to eradicate slash and burn cultivation, create more permanent jobs, and encourage various different sectors to participate in the development of the national economy in accordance with socialist mechanisms.
