VIENTIANE, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Presenting the socio-economic development report to the ongoing fifth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly's eighth legislature, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said action is being intensified to realize the benefits of mega infrastructure projects, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Friday.
"These included many national highways and roads and rail to connect with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative," the report reads.
Among them, as of May, construction of the Laos-China Railway Project was 33.7 percent complete, about four percent ahead of the plan, the Lao Prime Minister told the parliament.
Construction of an expressway linking Vientiane with Vangvieng, a well-known tourist district in Vientiane province, is expected to commence at the end of this year. The 109-km road is part of the Vientiane-Boten Expressway, which the government and a Chinese company will jointly develop to connect the Lao capital with the Chinese border.
Meanwhile, a terminal extension project for capital Vientiane's Wattay International Airport is now 99.2 percent complete.
In addition, Thongloun said a feasibility study for an expressway to connect the Lao capital with Vietnamese capital Hanoi has begun; a feasibility study was also completed for a planned railway linking the Lao capital with Vung Ang Seaport in Vietnams central Ha Tinh province, said the report.
Laos and Vietnam have agreed to jointly develop the seaport, which will enable land-locked Laos to access sea trade routes.
Thongloun said improvements had been made to many national highways to enable more convenient transport of people and goods.
Additionally, the government has also pushed for and facilitated construction of various investment projects which were previously approved, including five national electricity grid projects and various hydropower plants.
The construction of dry-ports in central Savannakhet and northern Luang Namtha provinces are also being carried out.
Meanwhile, the Lao government has facilitated permission to carry out surveys and feasibility studies of various national-level investment projects to complete necessary steps and procedures so that constructions of these projects can start at the soonest.