Expansion work on Vientiane's international airport has begun as part of Laos' preparations to host next year's Asia-Europe Meeting, state media reports said Thursday, according to dpa. A ceremony to launch the 37.6-million-dollar, China-backed project was held Wednesday at Wattay International Airport, the Vientiane Times reported. The Chinese government has provided a low-interest loan for the project, which includes expanding the airport's one runway and roads around the facility and improving electricity and drainage systems, said Lao Aviation Department Director General Yakua Lopangkao. Japan has granted Laos another 23.4 million dollars in aid to finance the expansion of Vientiane's aeroplane parking bay facilities to accommodate at least 35 Boeing 747s. Currently, Wattay can park four of the large jets. Laos has 14 months to prepare for the Asia-Europe Meeting, a biennial summit of 46 countries and two organizations, which poses major infrastructural and logistical challenges for Laos, one of the world's poorest countries. The meetings alternate between Asian and European capitals and were launched in 1996. Participating are the 27 members of the European Union, the 10 countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, and the heads of the secretariats of ASEAN and the EU.
