Twelve years ago, Bachiang was one of the most disadvantaged districts in Laos’ southwestern province of Champasak. Since the Vietnam-Laos rubber company invested in growing rubber trees in Bachiang in 2005, local living standards and infrastructure have improved rapidly. The company has created jobs for 3,000 locals and promoted social welfare policies to improve people’s lives. It also helped farmers adopt new techniques to increase productivity.
Vietnam is investing effectively in Champasak province, Vice Governor of the province Buasone Vongsongkhon has said. Apart from investing in rubber cultivation, Vietnamese firms also build hospitals, schools and roads as well as help locals escape from poverty, he noted.
According to the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of 2016, Vietnam had more than 400 projects in Laos worth nearly 4 billion USD, focusing on hydropower, mining, transportation, planting industrial trees and services.
This has contributed to local development, generating jobs and increasing incomes for local people as well as tightening the friendship between the two countries.
