Untitled Document

December 24, 2002

HEADLINE: ADB
Small airport improvement project in Lao PDR
DATELINE: Manila, Philippines

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a US$ 500,000 technical
assistance (TA) grant to prepare a project to improve six small
airports in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).
The TA will come from ADB's Japan Special Fund, financed by the
Government of Japan. Feasibility studies will be conducted for
airports in Bokeo, Houaphan, Oudomxai, Phongsaly, Sayaboury, and Xieng
Khouang provinces in northern Lao PDR. A civil aviation master plan,
prepared in 1993 to provide a framework for sustainable and effective
development of the civil aviation sector, will also be updated.
Access to rural areas is difficult in many parts of Lao PDr.
Two-thirds of the land area is covered by forest and woodland, and
half the country is inaccessible during the rainy season.
Landlocked, and with no railway system, Lao PDR depends heavily on
road and air transport. Improving small airports in the northern
region to international safety and security standards will be crucial
to providing market access and better delivery of social services as
well as promoting national, regional, and international tourism.
The following activities will be undertaken under the TA:
* Updating and upgrading the civil aviation master plan;
* Revising outline designs and cost estimates for improving airports;
* Formulating an economic and financial evaluation for each airport;
* Assessing the development impact on poverty; and
* Preparing social and environmental assessments and identifying
mitigation measures, if any, especially for the poor.
ADB 2002 Asian Development Bank
CONTACT: Tsukasa Maekawa
Tel: +632 632 5840
e-mail: tmaekawa@adb.org
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