Thanaleng Dry Port, Vientiane Logistics Park will boost regional trade: project developer

The Thanaleng Dry Port (TDP) and Vientiane Logistics Park (VLP) are designed to help transform Laos from a land-locked to a land-linked country, the landmark project developer has told the Crown Prince of Malaysia.
His Royal Highness Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, the Crown Prince of the State of Perlis of Malaysia, the Chancellor of the University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and his delegation on Monday visited the US$727 million project.

The Crown Prince of Malaysia and his delegation visit the Thanaleng Dry Port, Vientiane Logistics Park in Vientiane.

Former Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office and current President of the Executive Board of Strategy and Planning at PTL Holding Company Limited, Mr Alounkeo Kittikhoun, gave a speech to welcome the Crown Prince of Malaysia and his delegation.
Mr Alounkeo said nine dry ports in Laos had been registered as the government is keen to develop a national logistics system, as part of efforts to drive socio-economic development.
The Vientiane Logistics Park, Thanaleng Dry Port, the Vung Ang seaport and a planned railway are all part of the Lao Logistics Link project, which PTL Holding Company Limited – the parent company of Vientiane Logistics Park Co., Ltd. – is managing.
TDP’s Managing Director Sakhone Philangam said the Thanaleng Dry Port is an overland port and is operated similarly to sea ports, with the aim of facilitating cross-border goods transport and boosting regional trade.
“For many years, we relied on neighbouring countries to import and export goods which did not allow us to have a bargaining power in logistics,” he said.
“We question ourselves to be a connector equipped with trade facilitation like a warehouse and other facilities. We aim to become a trade and facilitation point, connecting Laos with China and Thailand and beyond.”
As a trade facilitation gateway, Mr Sakhone said, the Thanaleng Dry Port is the connecting point, handling goods that arrive and depart by rail.
“We aim to link Asean to Europe through dry ports in Vientiane and Kunming,” he added.
Mr Sakhone said the TDP and the VLP also aim to become a large marketplace for businesses in China and Asean, attracting foreign investment to process goods for export with lower tariffs.
Vice President of the Vientiane Logistics Park Co., Ltd., Mr Tee Chee Seng, highlighted the importance of a rail link between Laos and Malaysia, saying this could boost trade not only between Laos and Malaysia but also in the rest of the region.
 He visualised regional connectivity through the railway, which would enable Laos and Asean countries to link with China and European countries.
Mr Tee Chee Seng explained how Malaysia could export more agricultural produce and benefit from regional rail connectivity.
He said Laos offers incentives as well as trade privileges, which has drawn many companies to Laos so they can manufacture and export their products at low cost.
According to Mr Sakhone, about 50 percent of products exported and imported through Laos pass through the Thanaleng Dry Port. Some 65 percent of goods are imports, 25 percent are exports, and the remaining 10 percent are in transit.
Over the first five months of this year, as many as 13,000 containers passed through the Thanaleng Dry Port, which houses extensions of the Laos-Thailand and Laos-China railways for ease of transfer between the two tracks.
Currently, the Laos-China Railway operates two round-trip freight trains a day out of the full capacity of 14 round trips a day.
In addition, the Lao investor said they are developing other investment zones within the US$727 million project, which is being built on a 382-hectare site in Vientiane. These zones include an export processing zone, which is expected to become a manufacturing export hub for Southeast Asian countries and the global consumer market.

The Crown Prince of the Malaysian state of Perlis (fifth from left) and Mr Alounkeo Kittikhoun (fifth from right) join a group photo at the TDP and VLP in Vientiane.	The Crown Prince of the Malaysian state of Perlis inspects project activities at the TDP and VLP in Vientiane.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update September 14, 2022)