The wheels rolled over the bumpy gravel road, and the heavy truck loaded with cassava slowly moved in the dust. Now, this north-south transportation artery is about to bid farewell to mud and reshape the logistics map with reinforced concrete, injecting lasting momentum into Laos' infrastructure through innovative models.

project implementation

On September 25, 2026, the signing ceremony for the maintenance and construction project of the southern section of National Highway 13 was successfully held in Savannakhet Province, Laos. The total length of this road section is 81.78 kilometers, connecting the border of Ganmeng Province in the north and Zhanpeng County in Savannakhet Province in the south. Local provincial and municipal leaders attended the ceremony and witnessed the implementation of this key infrastructure project.

The total investment of the project is 5.77 trillion Kip, covering a construction period of 3 years, a road maintenance period of 7 years, and the construction of toll stations. A new mixed investment and financing model is adopted, with contractors providing advance funding for construction and bundling long-term maintenance services to achieve the integration of construction and maintenance.

model innovation

This project implements a differentiated charging mechanism, which only charges tolls for heavy trucks of 12 tons and above. All tolls are centrally managed by the Ministry of Finance of Laos and are specifically used for installment repayment of construction funds. The charging standards are based on the mature billing model of Laos' national highways, with clear and transparent rules. The road is built according to the standard of second-class highway. The whole line is paved with 25 cm thick reinforced concrete pavement, greatly improving the road bearing capacity and durability, which can fully adapt to the traffic demand of heavy logistics vehicles, and thoroughly improve the existing road traffic shortcomings. Keywords: highways, transportation, infrastructure

Segmented construction

The project combines different road scenarios in urban areas, towns, and wilderness areas, implementing four differentiated customized constructions, optimizing road width, isolation belts, drainage ditches, and shoulder configurations in a targeted manner, and accurately adapting to diverse traffic needs such as civil and freight transportation. As the core artery of north-south transportation in Laos, the upgrading and renovation of the southern section of National Highway 13 has significantly improved the efficiency of inter provincial logistics transportation. Innovative toll maintenance model, solving the problem of infrastructure operation and maintenance, providing high-quality reference models for the sustainable development of Laos' highways.Editor/Gong Ziwei