Ambassador Kenichi Kobayashi (right) handing over a symbolic key to Ngampasong Muongmany during a ceremony to hand over buses to the government on Feb 28, 2023. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): The government of Japan has provided 52 buses to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to improve public transport in Vientiane.
The 25-seater buses were handed over on Tuesday (Feb 28) to the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ngampasong Muongmany, by the Japanese Ambassador to Laos, Kenichi Kobayashi.
The Deputy Mayor of Vientiane, Phouvong Vongkhamsao, will take charge of the buses and will hand them over to the Vientiane State Bus Enterprise.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ambassador Kobayashi said the small buses donated by the Japanese government were suitable for travel on small roads. Their use would help to reduce the number of accidents and ease traffic congestion.
Ngampasong noted that the buses had been donated through Japanese grant aid for the Economic and Social Development Programme 2020 and were worth 500 million Japanese yen.
The 52 buses had been donated along with spare parts and repair equipment, because some of the buses donated by Japan in past years were now old and unusable.
“These buses will replace old and unusable buses as well as serve new routes for the benefit of local residents,” he said.
Ngampasong said many big cities around the world are trying to find solutions to transport and congestion issues.
The increasing number of private vehicles causes traffic congestion and accidents that destroy lives and property, cause pollution, and harm the environment.
This means that public transport systems must be improved to encourage people more people to use buses and other forms of transport, while more must be done to tackle the problem of traffic congestion in Vientiane.
