Lao Airlines to begin flights to Attapeu in February
Lao Airlines plans to begin flights from Vientiane to Attapeu International Airport in the far south of the country starting in February.
Flights will take place twice a week and will transit at Pakxe International Airport in Champassak province on the return journey to pick up passengers wanting to travel to Vientiane.
Lao Airlines planes at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane.
Director of Attapeu International Airport Mr Noukone Keobuavanh said “Recent discussions to decide on the days of the flight put forward Monday and Saturday as the most likely days of operation.”
The newly built Attapeu International Airport is fully equipped to accommodate domestic and international flights. As of now, Lao Airlines is the only airline planning to use the airport.
Mr Noukone said his own observations led him to believe that Vietnamese business operators would use the new sector, as well as the general public, tourists and Lao officials.
Volunteers working for the Japan International Cooperation Agency in the area and Korean business operators were also interested in flights from Attapeu to Vientiane and had frequently enquired about the possibility of such a service, he added.
President Choummaly Sayasone and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang officially opened the new Attapeu International Airport on May 30. Construction of the airport began in May 2013 and was completed in April this year.
It is expected the airport will help to spur socio-economic development by attracting investment and boosting tourism, as it links Attapeu to other regions through public transport and air freight.
The runway at Attapeu is 1,850m long and 30m wide and can accommodate aircraft that have 70 to 100 seats.
The airport is located in X aysettha district, about 26km from Attapeu provincial capital along road No. 18B.
The Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL) funded construction of the facility through an interest-free loan of more than US$36.1 million (almost 300 billion kip).
Almost 20,000 hectares of rubber trees have been planted in Attapeu province by foreign companies and the government will allow a further 10,000 hectares to be used for rubber plantations.
In another development, Vietnam's Hoang Anh Attapeu Sugar Industrial Group last year held a stone laying ceremony for a US$100 million sugar factory in Phouvong district.
The provincial capital has undergone rapid development over the past five years and large buildings now line the streets, while paved roads are well lit with newly installed streetlights.
At the end of last year President Choummaly Sayasone gave his approval for the main town in Phouvong district to be relocated at a cost of over US$30 million in a bid to spur development.
The town's new location would enable the provision of a much better water supply as it lies on flat land alongside the Kong River.
The new location also provides better access to road No. 18B, which links the province to southern Vietnam.
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