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Headlines:
Gold Industry Partnership Agreed With Malaysia
New Infrastructure for Southern Connectivity
Ring Road to Keep Gridlock from Luang Prabang
ADB Approves $41M for Primary Healthcare
Melbourne Mosquitoes Fighting Dengue
Maternity Leave Extended for Civil Servants
MSMEs Need Digital Skills: Gov’t, KR Deliver
Lao Language Integration for Artificial Intelligence
Eco-Tourism Regs Support Private Cash Grab
Pumped-Storage Hydropower
On Track to Graduate from LDC
Gold Industry Partnership Agreed With Malaysia
The Malaysia Gold Association (MGA) signed an MoU with the Lao Bullion Bank and the Gold Jewelry and Gem Association of Laos on September 7, 2025. The tie-up is the first gold industry agreement between Malaysia and Laos. The deal was formalized during this year’s Lao Gold Festival 2025 in Vientiane.
Read more: Business Today (Gold Industry Alliance), Nation Thailand (Gold Festival)
New Infrastructure for Southern Connectivity
Authorities in Attapeu are kicking off the construction of a USD 149 million cross-border infrastructure project to improve regional transport. The project includes a new road (135 kilometers to connect Vanxay and Nongkai Aok near the Laos-Vietnam border) and bridge (165-meter span, 10-tonne load capacity) over the Xekaman River in Xanxay district. Completion is expected in September 2028.
Read more: Laotian Times
Ring Road to Keep Gridlock from Luang Prabang
If you haven’t been to Luang Prabang in a while, it may come as a surprise that traffic is becoming a problem, but in light of ever-increasing road use, authorities inked a contract to study the design and impacts of an 80-kilometer ring road and bridge across the Mekong River to reduce congestion. The ring road would provide an alternative to the city's narrow streets, preventing the gridlock predicted in the coming years. Early evaluations indicate that parts of the ring road run along existing roads, but new sections would be needed for connectivity to Kuang Xi waterfall and National Road No. 13 North.
Read more: The Star (Ring Road Plan), Laotian Times (Project Details)
ADB Approves $41M for Primary Healthcare
The Asian Development Bank approved a $41 million package for primary healthcare. The funding includes $30 million from ordinary capital resources, $10 million from the Asian Development Fund, and a top-up of $1 million for technical assistance from the Community Resilience Partnership Program Trust Fund. The main outcomes expected are the upgrade of health centers, more staff training, and the setup of community climate adaptation strategies.
Read more: Laotian Times (Project Details), Healthcare Asia (Financing Package)
Melbourne Mosquitoes Fighting Dengue
Melbourne-bred mosquitoes are being sent to Laos as part of the Driving Down Dengue project to combat dengue fever. The project requires the release of more than 130 million lab-grown mosquitoes that have been infected with Wolbachia bacteria, reducing their ability to transmit viruses. The program is a collaboration between the Lao government, Save the Children International, the Australian government, and the “World Mosquito Program”. The eggs are bred in Melbourne, shipped to Laos, and reared (reared!) into adult mosquitoes there before release.
Read more: ABC News
Maternity Leave Extended for Civil Servants
The government made some changes to the Civil Servants Law in order to allow female civil servants maternity leave of up to six and a half months. Standard leave is four months, cesarean deliveries will allow 4.5 months, and mothers of twins get six and a half months. In cases of miscarriage, civil servants are able to use a month of leave, with possible extensions based on medical advice. Before the recent changes, maternity leave was limited to five months. The revised law also allows for a few other types of leave, including annual leave, medical leave, professional development leave, marriage leave, and bereavement leave.
Read more: Laotian Times
MSMEs Need Digital Skills: Gov’t, KR Deliver
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are going to get support to help them improve their digital skills. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has a project on the go that supports human resource development in digital innovation for MSMEs through to the year 2025. The project supports the development of digital infrastructure and staff training in ICT, supporting employment and startup creation. Korea International Cooperation Agency also promised to step up with a little under USD 10 million to support digital skills training for civil servants from 2025 to 2029. One of the project’s objectives is to get a Digital-Human Resources Development Center up and running. The deal was signed on September 9, 2025, in Vientiane, with attendees including Korean Ambassador Jung Yung-soo and Lao Minister of Technology and Communications Boviengkham Vongdara.
Read more: The Star (Skills Development), Punjab News Express (Digital Innovation), Laotian Times (Korea)
Lao Language Integration for Artificial Intelligence
The Faculty of Natural Sciences at the National University of Laos is working with SX Group to research and develop a Lao Large Language Model to improve digital processing of the Lao language. The project includes creating a Lao Corpus, which is essentially a standardized database for training an AI model on accurate language processing. The partnership will build national capacity by improving technical expertise and providing training programs for students.
Read more: Laotian Times
Eco-Tourism Regs Support Private Cash Grab
The government announced new rules this week to promote nature-based tourism and to bring more private sector investment in national parks and other protected areas. Developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the World Bank, the regulations are hoped to support sustainable development, new jobs, and help to protect Lao biodiversity. The Decision on Tourism in Forest Areas allows MSMEs to run “eco-friendly” tourism projects that are aligned with national environmental goals. Financial support opportunities include Planning and Feasibility Funding, Challenge Funds for innovation, and Matching Funds for marketing and product development.
Read more: Travel and Tour World
Pumped-Storage Hydropower
Électricité du Laos Generation Public Company (EDL-Gen) signed an agreement on September 1, 2025, with Singaporean firms to develop a pumped-storage hydropower project in Sekong Province. The partnership will improve electricity generation efficiency and support grid stability. Pumped-storage hydropower is nothing new, but it is starting to be rolled out more globally as a relatively efficient way to smooth electricity supply by balancing intermittent sources like wind and solar. EDL-Gen previously signed an agreement with PSG Corporation to retrofit some existing hydropower plants into pumped-storage facilities, but this is a separate deal.
Read more: Laotian Times
On Track to Graduate from LDC
Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General, came out to say that Laos is doing well in its move toward graduation from least developed country status next year, despite the challenges you read about every week in the Mekong Memo (that’s not a direct quote). Wignaraja said there’s still a real need for Laos to keep working on new trade deals to bring more foreign investment, however. Areas that she said are still ripe for growth include renewable energy and education/ health investment to support the development of a capable workforce. Her visit comes as Laos is preparing its 10th five-year National Socio-Economic Development plan (for years) 2026-2030. Delivery on the plan will be absolutely necessary if the country is going to hit its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Early assessments show that a lot more investment money is going to be needed to finance development priorities to get there.
Read more: Nation Thailand
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading.
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