Singapore Business Federation briefed on Vientiane logistics park project

VIENTIANE (Vientiane News/ANN): The Singapore Business Federation in collaboration with Enterprise Singapore organised a webinar on “Unlocking Opportunities Amid Lao’s Growing Connectivity” on Monday (Nov 9), which was attended by the officials of Vientiane Logistics Park (VLP) among others.

The objective of the webinar was to communicate the recent developments in Laos in terms of infrastructure construction, which could lead to a new investment potential and growth prospects in logistics, manufacturing, and trade as the country is inching ahead to become a land-linked country.

Speakers at the webinar included the Singapore Ambassador to Laos Leow Siu Lin, the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Oudet Souvannavong, the VLP Project Director Tee Chee Seng, the Thanaleng Dry Port Project Director Sakhone Philangam, the Rajah and Tann (Laos) managing partner Lee Hock Chye, and the Pacific Logistics Group’s Business Unit deputy head Alex Pey.

Other speakers shared their experiences of doing business in Laos from varied perspectives, especially in the special economic zones.

Laos has the unique appeal of being the immediate neighbour of China in the Asean region and is on the Kunming-Singapore railway, making it an ideal location for Singapore investors targeting regional expansion using VLP as a platform.

During the webinar speakers shared their views on new opportunities being created by the recent construction of the VLP and its newly-developed Thanaleng Dry Port (TDP) which be ready for commissioning by mid-March 2021.

The webinar concluded with an interesting Q&A session, whereby speakers answered all questions to the satisfaction of the audience.

The speakers from VLP encouraged participants to contact its marketing department for specific information.

TDP will be the first intermodal terminal of international importance that will be connected to the international port network under the port code LATHG, thus allowing NVOCC operators and shipping lines to issue the bill of lading using LATHG as a port of loading and port of discharge, a big leapfrog for the Lao logistics industry.

VLP project’s representatives had updated the progress of the project construction since the Concession Agreement was signed last July and highlighted the advantage of having a co-location of the Dry Port and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in one single spot right next to the Mekong Friendship Bridge, from which a dedicated bonded access road to VLP will be built.

This will provide maximum flexibility and convenience in terms of the provision of import, export, and transit services, made possible by one-stop facilities, which include dedicated CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) services, container freight station, and container yard, different warehousing regime options namely bonded, transit, and free zone that will fully support the upcoming Lao-China railway thus completing the last jigsaw of regional connectivity overland.

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