Vientiane provincial authorities have asked investors to further study the potential environmental impact of a tourism complex that has been proposed for the disused airfield in Vangvieng district.

Following an agreement with provincial authorities last March, Yijin Construction Engineering Lao Co., Ltd. began a one-year feasibility study for the project, which is planned on a 15-hectare site.
According to an official from the province’s Department of Planning and Investment, the province’s Governor Mr Vidong Xayasone this week gave permission for authorities to sign an agreement with the investors for development of the project.

If the company goes ahead with the project, it will invest about US$200 million. The complex would include a concert hall, exhibition hall, an ‘ice playground’, fountain park, shopping centre, children’s recreation area, water park, hotels, apartments, restaurants, and bars.
Department official Ms Khammouy Xayasouk told Vientiane Times on Wednesday “We have asked the investors to clarify the sources of water they will use and how they will handle garbage and waste water disposal.”

“We need to know where they will take water from, as many tourism-related businesses have encountered water shortages in the past,” she added.
Several meetings were held during the feasibility study to update officials on the results of the study and enable consultations between the authorities and investors.
Ms Khammouy said the authorities had stressed that the project should use local resources wherever possible, create jobs for local people, and involve locals in the supply of vegetables, meat, fish, and fruit for restaurants.
The investors were also requested to build a new airport for Vangvieng, which Ms Khammouy said must be better than the existing one.
Vientiane province also has a small disused runway in Kasy district, but local people have used the land to build shops selling food and drinks.
Ms Khammouy said the encroachers could be removed if the government needed the land for development purposes.
Early last year provincial authorities gave the green light to another company to conduct a feasibility study on the development of a tourism complex in Vangvieng district, at the point where the Nam Xong and Nam Lik rivers meet.
With its stunning landscapes and temperate climate, Vangvieng is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Laos. More than 140,000 foreigners visited Vangvieng in 2016, with about 45 percent coming from Europe.