Laos Infrastructure
In this blog I'll look at the situation of infrastructure in Laos and what effect it has on economic growth and development.
First I'll look at physical transportation infrastructure. Laos is very lacking in road development. They only have a few tens of thousands of kilometers of road, and less than 20% of it is paved [2]. This is particularly an issue because unpaved roads can become nearly or completely untraversable in some of Laos's seasonal weather, which impedes international trade greatly, seeing as the landlocked nation does trade almost exclusively on roads, and also puts people in rural areas in danger because they cannot safely flee hazardous weather conditions [1]. The nation also lacks a developed train system, and as a whole the difficulty of moving about Laos hurts the development of its citizens as well as many of its industries, for example those of many natural resources that make up the backbone to its economy [2]. That said, much progress is being made. In 2017, the Ministry of Finance and the Wold Bank approved $25 million to improving road infrastructure in Laos [4]. In addition, neighboring nations like China are contributing towards building better railway systems and roads in order to better interconnect Asia through the nation and to better tap into its resource market, but it should be noted many questions have been raised about the effect on environment and local communities these projects will have, and also whether they'll bring any real growth to Laos at all that will justify the massive loans they are taking out to fund them [2].
I also looked at telecommunications and energy infrastructure. Laos has recently seen an incredible boom in energy production thanks to the construction of a large number of hydro-electric power generators [3]. In fact, the government predict its energy production will soon be able to fulfill the entire nation needs and then produce excess that can be sold to neighboring countries for profits they plan to invest into fighting poverty, which will be a big help for economic development [4]. This seems to track with a rise too in telecommunication and internet access, with phone subscriptions jumping from 3.1% of the population to 51.3% between 2004 and 2015, and internet access from 0.3% to 18.2% [1]. This should increase the population's access to ideas and advice and will likely increase their ability to produce and thus boost economic growth, and if internet access expansion reaches poorer people, economic development as well.
Sources:
First I'll look at physical transportation infrastructure. Laos is very lacking in road development. They only have a few tens of thousands of kilometers of road, and less than 20% of it is paved [2]. This is particularly an issue because unpaved roads can become nearly or completely untraversable in some of Laos's seasonal weather, which impedes international trade greatly, seeing as the landlocked nation does trade almost exclusively on roads, and also puts people in rural areas in danger because they cannot safely flee hazardous weather conditions [1]. The nation also lacks a developed train system, and as a whole the difficulty of moving about Laos hurts the development of its citizens as well as many of its industries, for example those of many natural resources that make up the backbone to its economy [2]. That said, much progress is being made. In 2017, the Ministry of Finance and the Wold Bank approved $25 million to improving road infrastructure in Laos [4]. In addition, neighboring nations like China are contributing towards building better railway systems and roads in order to better interconnect Asia through the nation and to better tap into its resource market, but it should be noted many questions have been raised about the effect on environment and local communities these projects will have, and also whether they'll bring any real growth to Laos at all that will justify the massive loans they are taking out to fund them [2].
I also looked at telecommunications and energy infrastructure. Laos has recently seen an incredible boom in energy production thanks to the construction of a large number of hydro-electric power generators [3]. In fact, the government predict its energy production will soon be able to fulfill the entire nation needs and then produce excess that can be sold to neighboring countries for profits they plan to invest into fighting poverty, which will be a big help for economic development [4]. This seems to track with a rise too in telecommunication and internet access, with phone subscriptions jumping from 3.1% of the population to 51.3% between 2004 and 2015, and internet access from 0.3% to 18.2% [1]. This should increase the population's access to ideas and advice and will likely increase their ability to produce and thus boost economic growth, and if internet access expansion reaches poorer people, economic development as well.
Sources:
[1] "Infrastructure." OpenDevelopment Laos, Open Development Initiative, 3 July, 2018, laos.opendevelopmentmekong.net/topics/infrastructure
[2] "Laos - Infrastructure, Power, and Communications." Nations Encyclopedia, Advameg, www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Laos-INFRASTRUCTURE-POWER-AND-COMMUNICATIONS.html
[3] "Laos - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses." BuddeComm, Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd, www.budde.com.au/Research/Laos-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses
[4] Serrato, Jennifer. "Investment in Infrastructure in Laos Bringing Profit." The Borgen Project, The Borgen Project, 23 January, 2018, borgenproject.org/investment-infrastructure-in-laos/
[2] "Laos - Infrastructure, Power, and Communications." Nations Encyclopedia, Advameg, www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Laos-INFRASTRUCTURE-POWER-AND-COMMUNICATIONS.html
[3] "Laos - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses." BuddeComm, Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd, www.budde.com.au/Research/Laos-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses
[4] Serrato, Jennifer. "Investment in Infrastructure in Laos Bringing Profit." The Borgen Project, The Borgen Project, 23 January, 2018, borgenproject.org/investment-infrastructure-in-laos/
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