TRANSPORTATION IN LAOS

This article concerns systems of 'transportation in Laos'. Laos is a country in Asia, which possesses a number of modern transportation systems, including several highways and a number of airports. As a landlocked country, Laos possesses no ports or harbours.

Contents

Railways

Highways

Water transport

Pipelines

Airports

See also

External links

Railways

There are currently no major railways in Laos, although 33.5km of railway is being built, using 1000mm gauge, which is to run over the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. This will provide a transport link to Thailand, where the same guage is used, as far as Vientiane.
Laos does not have any links to other neighbouring countries by rail, although a link to Vietnam's Ha Tinh Province has been proposed. All neighbouring countries share the same 1000mm gauge, with the exception of China.

Highways

In Laos, there are 21,716km of highway, of which 9,673.5km are paved, leaving 12,042.5km unpaved. Driving in Laos is on the right.
Laos has constructed a new highway connecting Savannakhet to the Vietnamese border at Lao Bao, with funding coming from the Japanese government [1]. This has greatly facilitated travelling across Laos. This highway can now be traversed in a few hours, while in 2002 the trip took over 9 hours along a very bumpy (and scenic) route.

Water transport

About 4,587 km of navigable water routes exist in Laos, primarily the Mekong and its tributaries. There is an additional 2,897km, which is sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m.
In terms of sea travel, Laos has a merchant marine consisting of 1 cargo ship of 2,370GRT.

Pipelines

Laos has 136km of pipeline for transport of petroleum products.

Airports

Laos possesses 52 airports, if which 9 have paved runways, and 43 do not. Of the airports with paved runways, only Wattay International Airport has runway length over 2,438m. Of the remainder, four have runways 1,524 to 2,437 m length, and a further four of lengths between 914 and 1,523 m. Of the airports without paved runways, 1 has runways of length above 1,524m, 17 have runway lengths between 914 and 1,523 m, leaving 25 with length below 914m.

See also

★ Laos

★ Lao Airlines

★ Vientiane

External links

★ News site regarding rail in Laos

★ UN Map of Laos