Construction of a four-lane road, linking Don Noun Three Junction to the National Stadium in Vientiane 's Xaythany district, is not running on schedule, a project official said last week.
Head of the Vientiane SEA Games road project, Mr Noulot Latxaphong said the main reason behind the delay is the wet season.
He said it is difficult to conduct land levelling in the wet season and heavy rainfalls have destroyed areas that have already been levelled as well as causing deterioration to already paved areas.
“We had set a target to achieve 18 percent of total construction each month, but in July we only achieved 5 percent,” he said.
“We will do our best to ensure the project is completed on schedule by October to welcome the SEA Games at the end of this year.”
The project is currently around 75 percent complete. Asphalt paving is 70 percent complete, despite the fact it was scheduled to be finished by June.
The road's walkways are 50 percent complete and traffic islands 20 percent complete.
Mr Noulot said measures have been introduced to speed up construction efforts.
“If there is no rain we will increase working periods. For example, we usually stop working at 6pm, but we will try to push that out to 8 or 9pm if the weather permits,” he said.
When finished the four-lane road will be 21m wide and 4.5km long.
It will be paved with a 5cm layer of asphalt and is expected to last for more than ten years.
The current road is only two lanes and 8 metres wide. In its current form, the road is unable to meet traffic requirements during a major event.
Construction is estimated at a total cost of US$3.7 million, of which US$3 million is a low interest loan from the Republic of Korea and the remainder from the government coffers.
There are several roads under construction in the lead-up to the SEA Games in December including Phontong Road, linking Dongdok to Savang village, and the 450 Year Road, linking Dongdok Road to the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, in Dongphosy village, Hadxaifong district.
The new roads will help facilitate increased traffic in Vientiane during the games.
By Times Reporters
