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 Bridge to More Trade
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CASTING WIDER This fishing net factory at Khon Kaen, Thailand, aims to increase sales to neighboring countries through the East-West Economic Corridor
KHANTHABULY, LAO PDR. The ferry ride across the Mekong River from Mukdahan to Khanthabuly may be a picturesque experience for tourists, but it can be an expensive and time-consuming ordeal for regular commuters.
A one-way ticket costs 50 baht (about $1.21)—more than a day’s income for many Lao—and there are porterage fees for traders and travelers with baggage.
The journey takes only 15 minutes, but queuing and immigration procedures on both sides can easily add an hour. Latecomers may have to stand on a boat jam-packed with people and goods.
Disembarking at Khanthabuly, capital of Savannakhet, is like stepping back in time. Its charming ochre French buildings and ambulatory pace of life evoke a bygone era.
However, the pace of change is expected to accelerate with the completion of a new bridge over the Mekong River in 2006.
MEKONG BRIDGE This second international bridge is due to open in 2006
The $75 million bridge—plus an upgraded airport and improved highway—is expected to bring major changes to the town and the province.
The infrastructure projects are all part of the Greater Mekong Subregion GMS) Economic Cooperation Program backed by the Asian Development Bank ADB), the Government of Japan, and other funding agencies.
The bridge, a joint undertaking of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Thailand, is being financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The Savannakhet airport, which may be upgraded to handle international flights, is planned to be shared by the Lao PDR and Thailand. The airport will strengthen regional air and tourism links. The East-West Economic Corridor is being rehabilitated with assistance from ADB and Japan.
The vision of Savannakhet’s Vice- Governor, Soukaseum Bodhisane, is that better transport links will bring investors “to lay the basis for the industrialization of the country.”
Savannakhet, the Lao PDR’s most populous province with 15% of the total population, is already achieving economic growth 1–2% faster than the national rate of 6%. The new infrastructure, predicts the Vice-Governor, will “create new opportunities for social and economic development. It will enable people to obtain jobs and develop new skills and also bring more services, such as electricity and piped water and telephones.”
POTS AND PANS Saulathin, a seller in the Indochina market, expects a boom
For the small but growing number of Lao PDR entrepreneurs, the chance of expanded markets is clearly welcome.
Lahasin Indigo is a Savannakhet-based weaver that uses natural dyes and homegrown cotton to make high-quality fabrics for export to Japan in collaboration with Japanese designers. It recently started exporting to Australia.
“If more tourists and businessmen came here, it could open up more export opportunities for us and we could provide more jobs,” says quality controller Keokaenta Phavisith.
Most weavers are young women for whom the job means a change from the traditional role of helping out on the family farm. Chanhom, who cannot read or write, left her village 35 kilometers away to join the enterprise only a few months ago. She now lives on the premises and loves her new circumstances.
“I have friends here, and I can earn 330,000 kip (about $30.41 a month),” she says shyly from behind a spinning wheel.
Across the river, traders at the bustling Indochina market in Mukdahan expect a boom once the bridge is open.
HEAVY LIFTING The bridge will lessen dependence on ferries
The hardware stall of Saulathin Sirimoukdamethakoun, an ethnic Vietnamese of Thai nationality, mirrors the entrepreneurial spirit of the GMS. He is selling sturdy aluminum pots and pans made in Viet Nam, which he says are cheaper than the slimmer and more elegant Thai hardware.
Pointing to a nearby loading dock, where porters are throwing boxes and cartons onto waiting boats, he complains that some of his goods arrive with dents. “When the bridge is open, I’ll go across and choose the pots and pans myself.”
Toys and ceramics are among the items making their way to Mukdahan from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
At the Indochina Toyshop, Haruetai Chanit says Chinese toys are more popular even though there’s not that much difference in price between Chinese and other toys.
“Thais like to buy Chinese toys because they’re new and different,” she says.
Farther inland on the East-West Economic Corridor, the business community of Khon Kaen—gateway to Thailand’s northeast—is gearing up for new opportunities on the eastern front.
The Chairman of the Khon Kaen Chamber of Commerce, Prayoon Angsanant, says a delegation just returned from a trade fair in Kunming, capital of the PRC’s Yunnan Province, to explore trade possibilities. They were delighted to find a warm welcome for their fish sauce and dried shrimp.
"Better transport links will bring investors to lay the basis for the industrialization of the country"
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Savannakhet’s
Vice-Governor,
Soukaseum Bodhisane
“With the East-West Economic Corridor and other infrastructure opening up markets in the PRC, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, Khon Kaen wants to be the logistical supply center for the region, which is a gateway to the northeast and east,” says Mr. Prayoon. The reduced transport costs will make us more competitive.”
One of the city’s main exports is fishing nets. A nearby factory, Khon Kaen Fishing Net Factory Co., produces and exports highquality nets. The company plans to expand main markets in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Viet Nam, says Vinai Sereeyothin, human resources manager.
“We need a lot of skilled people. So if everything opens up, I hope we can bring some Lao people here, give them training, and hire them,” he says.
Such cross-border movement of people as well as goods is expected to increase dramatically within the next decade.
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