Lao PDR: National Road 13 South Extension Improvement and Maintenance Project

DESCRIPTION

National Road 13 (NR13) serves as Lao PDR’s strategic north-south transport backbone and is a key regional corridor under the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025. However, the corridor is increasingly constrained by deteriorating road conditions and aging bridge infrastructure, resulting in critical bottlenecks.

As part of the NR13 South Extension Improvement and Maintenance Project, the Project Preparation Special Fund (PPSF) grant will support the Government of Lao PDR in preparing two linked priority sections of NR13: (i) the NR13 North Extension, spanning 140 km from Phonghong to Ka Si, and (ii) NR13 South Extension Phase 2, covering 93 km from Thakhek to Seno.

The PPSF grant will finance the following preparatory activities:

• Concept Engineering design
• Road safety and climate risk analysis, with recommended mitigation measures
• Tender document preparation
• Environmental and social documentation for NR13NE, in accordance with AIIB’s Environmental and Social Policy

The PPSF grant will be implemented by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport with close implementation support from AIIB.