Vientiane Canal To Expand Car Parking

The Pakpasak canal between Vat Chan Village and Sihom Village, Chanthabouly District, Vientiane will be developed and covered with a car park in an effort to solve the downtown parking crisis.

Parking over the canal will be able to accommodate 200 cars by 2015, according to a concession agreement signed recently between the Chanthabouly District Planning and Investment Office and President of the Thipphaphone Dithyavong Company, Ms Thipphaphone Dithyavong.

This is the second such venture by Ms Thipphaphone, whose company is also constructing the seven floor car parking facility near Talat Sao Mall in Hadsady Village. This project planned for the Hongthong area will occupy a total of 2,546 square metres and is expected to be completed with the next five years.

According to a KPL news report the parking lot project over the canal is aimed at easing traffic jams in the area surrounding Pakpasak Technical School and the Lao Development Bank.

The contract grants the company a 35-year concession for the 7,300 square metre area, which will be transformed into a huge parking lot. The contractor is expected to spend 3.5 billion kip on the construction project.

The company will charge customers 5,000 kip for the first two hours of parking and 3,000 kip for the following hours according to the KPL report.

Presently, there are more than 600,000 vehicles in Vientiane alone, almost half the total nationwide, with this figure growing annually between 15-20 percent.

Source: Vientiane Times