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Luang Prabang airport to be rebuilt
The government will invest about 554 billion kip (US$57.8 million) to rebuild the Luang Prabang airport in Luang Prabang province, to accommodate larger aircraft.
This is to ensure the airport meets international standards, and can accommodate Boeing 737s and ATR320s.
The project is also in response to increasing demand for routes to Luang Prabang.
A ceremony was held yesterday for the signing of the agreement to begin rebuilding, between the Lao Civil Aviation Department, representing the Lao government, and the China CAMC Engineering Co Ltd, at Don Chan Palace in Vientiane .
According to the Aerodrome Division Director of the Department of Civil Aviation, Mr Vanpheng Chanthaphone, the project will involve building a new runway, 2,800 metres long and 45 metres wide, as well as two runways to access the aircraft hangar.
The project will also extend the aircraft hangar to hold four Boeing 737 aircrafts, and will install new electrical systems, as well as an advanced aviation radio system.
There will also be a new 7,500-square-metre terminal building, complete with lifts and security systems, as well as a new road leading to the airport entrance, and extra parking lots.
The project is expected to take 45 months to complete, and the CAMC Engineering Co Ltd will be responsible for surveys, designs and the construction process.
Director General of the Lao Civil Aviation Department, Mr Yakua Lopangkao, said the upgrading of the airport was a government priority, as it would encourage foreign investment and boost the tourism industry.
He said that since 2002, the number of aircraft owned by domestic and international airlines landing at the airport had increased considerably, with flights through Lao Airlines, Thai Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Siem Reap Airways, and Vietnam Airlines.
It was expected that more airlines would open routes to Luang Prabang, from Singapore, Malaysia, and China, for example.
Numbers of both domestic and foreign passengers also continued to increase, by 15 percent and 30 percent respectively.
The government will be carrying out this project using loans from the Exim Bank of China.
Luang Prabang airport was built in 1972, and in 1994 the Thai government provided a grant of about 15.2 billion kip (50 million baht) to build the existing terminal building.
In 2000, the Thai government granted a further 48.7 billion kip (160 million baht) to upgrade the airport's runway, extending it from 1,800 metres to 2,200 metres.
Airports around the country are now being upgraded due to the Lao government's heavy focus on tourism; there are also plans for improvements to the Pakxe and Savannakhet airports in the near future, and the Luang Namtha airport is currently in the process of being rebuilt.
By Soudalath Phonpachith
(Latest Update October 23, 2007)
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeContent_Luang.htm
Renovation of Luang Namtha airport delayed
(KPL) The US$4.2 million project of airport renovation in the northern province of Luang Namtha to support 70-seat aircraft is delayed.
The construction works are now 60 per cent completed, lagging behind the target by five months.
The renovation is originally expected to be completed by 31 March 2008.
The project is to promote sustainable tourism development in Luang Namtha by focussing on the improvement of infrastructure to attract more domestic visitors and foreign tourists.
The Luang Namtha airport will be upgraded as a regional airport in the future.
The contract of renovation was inked in May 2006 with 18 months duration of construction.
The project will upgrade the runway, 1,600-metre long and 30 metres wide, build a one storey passenger terminal on 700 square metres, and a control tower, and install other safety facilities at the airport.
http://www.kplnet.net/english/news/edn9.htm
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeContent_Luang.htm
Pakse Airport renovation to start next month
(KPL) The renovation of the Pakse Airport phase two, which will enable the airport to support Boeing 737 aircraft, is expected to kick off next month.
Upon completion, the phase-two project will contribute to the development plan of Champassak province and turn the Pakse Airport into an aviation hub of southern Laos.
The renovation will raise the airport capacity to support aircrafts of Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 types, which will promote tourism of this southernmost province. Champassak will also serve as a linking point of the regional tourism of the UNESCO’s world heritage sites in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
The Thai Government will release soft loans of US$320 million for the renovation of the airport, 30 per cent of which will be non-interest.
According to the Lao National Tourism Administration’s figure, in the 2006-2007 period, more than 160,000 tourists have visited Champassak province. The figure of tourist arrivals, earning the province with about US$18 million, marks a rise of 45 per cent over the previous period.
One of the major tourist attractions in Champassak province is the Khmer-styled stone-built temple of Vat Phou, believed to be older than Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. Vat Phou Temple has been declared as the UNESCO’s second world heritage site in Laos.
Champassak also boasts of Khone Phapheng, the largest waterfall in southeast Asia.
http://www.kplnet.net/english/news/edn10.htm
AirAsia happy with growing passenger numbers
Managers of low-cost Malaysian airline AirAsia are satisfied with the number of passengers it has carried in over a month since it opened a new direct flight between Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur.
The airline's statio n manager in Vientiane , Mr Anolak Kingsada, said on Monday that the number of passengers travelling with the airline between the two cities had been large enough and steady since the airline began the flight in December.
He was speaking to Vientiane Times after the airline held a concert last week to celebrate its launch in Vientiane .
Mr Anolak said the number of passengers travelling with the airline ranged from 100 to 150 on each flight, below the full seat capacity of 180.
Most of the passengers are Malaysian business owners and tourists from Malaysia and other countries; only 20 percent are Lao, he said.
Mr Anolak said that the airline was planning to launch marketing campaigns to attract more passengers, especially those who want to travel to Singapore , Indonesia and the Philippines , and can get a connecting flight at KL airport.
He said the flight to Bangkok was more expensive than the Vientiane-Kuala Lumpur roundtrip, which cost from US$120 to US$170, depending on the day.
He also said the airline would invite Malaysian journalists to visit Laos next month to report on tourist sites in the country, as a way of encouraging Malaysian tourists to visit Laos and increase the number of passengers tra velling with the airline.
“There will be also an official launching ceremony of the airline's business in Laos ,” he said.
The decision of AirAsia to open the Vientiane-Kuala Lumpur route was the second attempt at improving transportation between Laos and Malaysia ; the first airline to run flights between the two countries, Malaysian Airlines, stopped operations in 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis, which hurt the tourism industry and discouraged investment in the region.
Director General of the Lao Aviation Department Yakua Lopangkao said the decision to resume flights from Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane had been due to the growing relations and cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the areas of tourism and business.
Malaysia is the ninth largest investor in Laos , with interests mainly in hotels and hydropower facilities, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
AirAsia operates three flights a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with more planned for the future, possibly in the form of daily flights to meet the growing demands of tourists coming to Laos.
Local and international airlines operate direct flights from Laos to China , Cambodia , Vietnam , Thailand and Malaysia.
By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update January 24, 2008)
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/Business/Business_air.htm
But if you read the article you will note that they are not exactly in a hurry to build it:
Ministry demarcates new Vientiane airport
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has completed the demarcation of an area surrounding Km 21 village as the proposed site of Vientiane 's new international airport.
The ministry has installed several signs instructing local residents not to build any permanent structures and to be prepared to leave the area when the government begins construction of the airport.
It has also requested nearby residents not to construct any tall buildings that might obstruct the flight path of planes using the airport.
The Director General of the ministry's Civil Aviation Department, Mr Yakua Lopangkao, confirmed on Thursday that the demarcation of the site in Xaythany district, 21 km south-east of Vientiane , had been completed.
“This is an early warning to local residents not to embark on any long-term investments in the area,” he said. “However, people can still grow crops and carry on with business for some time yet.”
The government began planning the development in 1995 and selected Km 21 as the location of the new airport, but many residents were inadequately informed of the plan.
Mr Yakua said the installation of the signs was only to inform locals of the proposed development and did not mean the government would start construction in the immediate future.
He explained that the authorities had experienced difficulties relocating people from other planned development sites in the past as some of them had built permanent homes and businesses in the area and were disinclined to leave, and the authorities had not offered appropriate compensation.
He said that if the authorities had issued adequate warnings of their intentions and people ignored them, the authorities were not obliged to offer compensation.
Deputy Director General of the department, Mr Vanpheng Chanthaphone, said on Thursday that the planned site covered 24 sq km, much larger than the current Wattay International Airport , which is only 10 sq km.
Mr Vanpheng, who is also Head of the Airport Division, said the government had formulated a master plan for the development, with a deadline of 2015 for the government to begin feasibility studies.
He said Wattay International Airport would be able to provide adequate services for the increasing number of passengers until the new airport was built.
In 2006, Wattay International Airport serviced 457,160 passengers and 1.4 million passengers are expected to pass through the airport each year by 2013.
Mr Vanpheng said that when this figure reached 1.5 million a year, the airport's facilities would be overstretched.
He said that the increasing number of flights would create undue noise pollution in Vientiane and so the government had decided to move the airport away from the city.
There are currently six carriers operating flights to and from Vientiane : Lao Airlines, Thai Airways International, Vietnam Airlines, Air Asia, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update February 04, 2008)
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeContent_Ministry.htm
http://www.kplnet.net/english/news/edn9.htm
Luang Namtha airport to re-open this month
(KPL) The improved airport in the northernmost province of Luang Namtha expects to re-open officially this month.
Mr Don Sithammala, Director of Provincial Airport Construction Project told KPL journalist this week that the construction is 72 % complete after closing for two years.
He disclosed that Luang Namtha Airport Construction Project has been started since 2006, now it is completed 72% and expects to re open this February.
The airport’s runway was re-paved by asphalt with a length of 1,600 metres and 30 metres wide. This airport can support ATR aircraft.
Luang Namtha province’s Airport Improvement Project had been supported more than US$ 4 million under cooperation between the Lao government shares 22% and the rest was the Asian Development Bank’s loan.
http://www.kplnet.net/english/news/edn11.htm
http://www.kplnet.net/english/news/edn11.htm
Luang Namtha airport to open for international flights
A sub -regional international airport in Luang Namtha province will open at the end of this month after about 18 months of renovation, a provincial official said yesterday.
“We believe this new airport will provide better access to the region for tourists,” the manager of the local branch of Green Discovery, Mr Somphone Soukkhaseum, said.
Visitors from the five surrounding countries of China , Vietnam , Thailand , Cambodia and Myanmar will be able to use the airport when it goes into service.
Mr Somphone told Vientiane Times that the Luang Namtha provincial Public Works and Transport Department, in collaboration with the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) is preparing to open the airport on March 31.
The previous airport, which serviced only domestic flights, has been converted into a small international airport, he said.
According to the LNTA, about US$4 million was borrowed from the Asian Development Bank to fund the renovation of the airport.
The new facilities will promote tourism and business, as well as commercial and investment activities between Laos and countries in the region, Mr Somphone said.
At present, most tourists travel to Luang Namtha province by bus, after flying to Luang Prabang International Airport .
The town of Luang Namtha is more than 340 km from Luang Prabang.
When the new airport opens it will no longer be necessary for visitors to make the long journey from Vientiane to Luang Namtha province by road, a trip which takes two days and is much too long for most people, especially investors and foreign visitors.
By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
(Latest Update March 11, 2008)
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeContent_LNT.htm
Savannakhet airport to reopen in August
Savannakhet airport will reopen for flights after being closed for several years to allow extensive renovations to convert it from a domestic airport to an international airport.
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http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/Current/Curren_Savannakhet%20airport.htm
Lao Airlines reopens Vientiane-Savannakhet flights
Lao Airlines flights between Vientiane and Savannakhet recommenced last Friday after a five-year hiatus due to a lack of passengers.
Lao Airlines Director General, Dr Somphone Douangdala, said recent socio-economic development in Savannakhet made it possible to begin offering flights again.
“The number of domestic and international investors and tourists coming to Savannakhet province is steadily increasing, so we decided to open the route to cater to these passengers,” he said.
“Initially, we will provide three flights per week, but if demand is high enough we will offer daily flights. Lao Airlines is ready to offer safe and comfortable flights to all passengers.
Savannakhet Governor Vilayvanh Phomkhe said the passenger flights would further boost the province’s socio-economic development.
“I can say that many foreign companies are interested in investing in our province,” he said.
“Savannakhet is a thriving hub of trade in the greater Mekong sub-region because it is located along the east-west corridor linking Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.”
He said Savannakhet was becoming an offered many opportunities for business and tourism.
“On behalf of the Savannakhet provincial government I would like to invite all domestic and foreign tourists to visit our province, and entrepreneurs to invest in our province,” he said.
The new flights are scheduled to occur every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Departure times are at 10.30am, traveling from Vientiane to Savannakhet and 12.10pm traveling in the opposite direction.
Lao Airlines is planning to introduce flights between Luang Prabang and Udon Thani in Thailand. Flights will commence on October 30 and depart every Friday and Sunday.
The airline is also preparing to open a new route from Savannakhet to Da Nang and Hue in Vietnam by 2009.
Current overseas destinations available through Lao Airlines are Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand, Hanoi in Vietnam, Kunming in China, and Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia.
Other domestic routes available with Lao Airlines are Vientiane to Pakxe, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang, Oudomxay, Luang Namtha and Huayxai.
The company will also commence tri-weekly flights between Savannakhet and Bangkok on October 22. This route will operate every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
By SISAY VILAYSACK
(Latest Update August 19, 2008)
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeContent_laoai.htm
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