Chinese Government supports Phase 2 of Rural Poverty Alleviation Facility Construction Project

On April 9, 2019, the Chinese Government and the Government of Laos signed a feasibility study agreement for the Rural Poverty Alleviation Facility Construction Project.

The agreement was signed by Wang Qihui, economic and commercial counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Laos, and Saysana Sithiphone, chief of cabinet of the Laos-China Cooperation Commission. Then, on October 23, 2019, the parties signed a project implementation agreement.

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued a grant worth approximately RMB 139.14 million to facilitate the implementation of phase 1 of this project. Phase 1 was completed on June 15, 2022. The groundbreaking ceremony for phase 2 took place on December 11, 2023 and is scheduled to reach completion mid-2025.

The purpose of phase 2 of the project is to help 40 villages in Phongsali, Nantha, Oudomxay and Houaphan provinces build power supply, digital TV, water supply and sanitation facilities.

Specifically, the project will provide all 40 villages with satellite TV broadcasting systems; equip 23 villages with power grids and deliver electricity to households; build reinforced concrete dams, filter pools, and reservoirs in 22 villages, install water disinfection equipment and water supply networks to deliver purified water to households; build new health centers in 19 villages, including medical rooms, dormitories, patient family resettlement areas, medical waste incinerators, walls, gates, and equip them with office and medical equipment; build basketball courts in schools in 6 villages, and provide corresponding sports equipment.

Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding Group (云南省建设投资控股集团有限公司) was awarded the construction bid for the project. The contract was approximately RMB 274 million.