Signing Ceremony for ADB Grant Project to Clean Up Vientiane's Waste Management

VIENTIANE, LAO PDR (31 March 2004) - Vientiane Capital City Government and ADB today held a signing ceremony for a US$1 million Solid Waste Management Project that will help clean up the Lao People's Democratic Republic's (Lao PDR's) capital city.

Funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan, the grant assistance will improve the environmental and living conditions of the poor in Vientiane through community-based solid waste management and income generating activities.

At the signing ceremony, the city government was represented by Sinlavong Khoudphaytoun, Vice-Mayor, Vientiane Capital City, while representing ADB was James Nugent, Country Director of its Resident Mission in the Lao PDR. The Ambassador of Japan, Itsuo Hashimoto, representatives from the Lao PDR Government, ADB, civil society organizations, and various development partners also attended.

The project aims to complement existing efforts by the Lao PDR Government and external donors to manage the mounting problems of solid waste disposal in Vientiane.

Less than half of the city's 220 tons of daily waste can now be disposed of at the municipal dumpsite. Further, areas that do not have access to waste collection services face environmental hygiene concerns.

The project will set up community-based solid waste management systems to collect, transport, and dispose of waste in poor communities, construct waste recycling centers, segregate and recycle solid waste, establish a waste pickers' multi purpose center, and improve the municipal landfill site.

Aside from enabling the Vientiane City government to collect an additional 20 tons of waste per day, the project will benefit about 2,900 households, provide training to 500 persons, and improve occupational safety for waste pickers.

"It is hoped that by the end of the project, Vientiane's waste collection and disposal systems will have vastly improved, and those working at the municipal dumpsite will face better conditions," says Mr. Nugent.

"The project will also provide greater community awareness of the benefits of good environmental hygiene. Likewise, it is expected that local policymakers will have a greater appreciation of the need for demand-driven social services and provide more support for community-based initiatives."

The assistance will be carried out over three years, beginning in April 2004 and ending in March 2007.

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