The governments of Laos and Japan will soon start working on Phase 2 of a riverbank erosion prevention project, slated to run from this year until 2014. Under an agreement signed in Vientiane on Friday, the Japanese government will provide financial support to the project through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), while the Lao government will provide an undisclosed amount of funding. The project aims to enhance the capacity of government officials at central and local levels to work on related projects, as well as building a pilot embankment through the use of local, environmentally sustainable materials. The project will be implemented across three provinces-Borikhamxay, Luang Praabang and Bokeo where bank erosion along the Mekong River has been serious and is causing major losses of agriculture land for Lao farmers. Friday’s agreement was signed between Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr Sommath Pholsena, and Chief Representative of JICA’s Laos Office, Mr Masato Togawa. The capacity-building project that is tied to the project relates to surveying, planning, designing and constructing riverbank protection works. The first phase of the project was implemented in Vientiane between 2005 and 2007.
Source: Vientiane Times
