Burma

Lao EconomyUtilities (Water, Electricity etc)

Powerhouse Laos Offers Burma a Fix to Electricity Woes

Burma’s chronic lack of electricity to power its economic development could be solved from an unlikely source—underdeveloped Laos.
Laos has just 6.8 million people and is mostly covered in forest, but is almost as big geographically as Italy, which has a population of 60 million. It also has numerous fast-flowing rivers, running from mountains in the north as high as 2,800 meters, and the communist government in Vientiane has drawn up plans to build scores of dams on them to harness their hydroelectric potential.
If all the hydro-dam projects under construction or firmly planned and on the drawing board were built, Laos would have an electricity generating capacity of …..

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Excursions - Venues

Concerns in Laos That Burma’s Opening Could Slow Tourism Growth

Businesses in Laos, itself a nascent tourist draw, are concerned that growth in the sector could be stalled by Burma’s recent opening-up, which could see some visitors opting for one country over the other when planning holidays.
More than 3.3 million tourists visited Laos last year, a 22 percent increase on 2011, with the influx contributing US$513.5 million to Laos’ modest $19 billion economy.
Pulling in more Western tourists, who according to Laos government statistics stay longer and spend more than visitors from neighboring countries, is key to the country’s tourism plans going …..

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