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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Laos
Index
Figure 7. Transportation and Selected Industrial and Agricultural
Activity, 1994
Source: Based on information from Germany, Statistiches Bundesamt,
Länderbericht Laos, 1990. Wiesbaden, October 1990, 11.
A street scene in Vientiane
Courtesy Gina Merris
A motorized cart--typical means of transportation in Louangphrabang
Courtesy Gina Merris
Because of its mountainous topography and lack of
development,
Laos has few reliable transportation routes, and as of
mid-1994,
there were no railroads. This inaccessibility has
historically
limited the ability of the government to maintain a
presence in
areas distant from the national or provincial capitals and
to some
extent limits communication among villages and ethnic
groups
(see Population;
Rural Life
, ch. 2). The Mekong and Nam Ou are
the only
natural channels suitable for large draft boat
transportation, and
from December through April low water limits the size of
the craft
that may be used on many routes. Between 1985 and 1990,
freight and
passenger traffic increased at rates of 14 percent and 8
percent,
respectively. This occurred largely as a result of the
government's
abolishment, in 1986, of restrictions on the
interprovincial
movement of goods, which had artificially isolated markets
throughout the country. In 1991 approximately 91 percent
of freight
traffic--measured in ton-kilometers--was carried by road
and 9
percent by river, whereas 95 percent of passenger
traffic--measured
in passenger-kilometers--was carried by road, 3 percent by
river,
and the remaining 2 percent by domestic air service.
As of 1991, freight transport services were provided by
four
state transport enterprises, a number of provincial
transport
enterprises, and the private sector. The state has a
monopoly on
freight transport between Laos and ports in Vietnam.
Although no
longer regulated by provincial government, the private
sector's
participation in road transport remains severely
restricted by
government regulations; in 1990 the private sector
accounted for
just 13 percent of freight transport and 43 percent of
passenger
transport. According to the Asian Development Bank, it is
considered unlikely that the transportation subsector will
eventually be a focus of the government's privatization
efforts
because poor road conditions, lack of spare parts, an
aging vehicle
fleet, and low transport tariffs--in some cases below
operating
costs--make such a move doubtful, at least for the short
term. The
Ministry of Communications, Transport, Posts, and
Construction
oversees transport and telecommunications.
Data as of July 1994
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