GMS Contents


ADB is helping Lao PDR reduce economic losses resulting from floods and droughts. The project will pair upgrades in water management infrastructure with community-based disaster risk management and enhanced regional forecasting to improve disaster preparedness in the GMS. Photo by ADB. 

New Irrigation Systems and Information are Helping Revive Livelihoods in Lao PDR

Orlathai Ferchanthala dreams of turning her family’s subsistence farm into a commercial business growing rice and a range of cash crops, raising livestock, and outfitted with a modern irrigation system.

“The soil here is suitable for growing various crops, and the grass is perfect for raising cattle,” said Ferchanthala, a 35-year-old mother of three living in a rural community in southern Vientiane. “We need irrigation schemes to bring water into our farming areas in the dry season and proper dikes to protect us from floods in the rainy season.”


Don Sahong Dam was built by Malaysia’s Mega First Corporation Berhad and EDL-Generation Public Company on the Mekong River in southern Champasak province in Lao PDR. Photo from Khmer Times.

Lao PDR Connects 195 MW Electricity to Cambodia’s National Grid

Tests have been completed on four electricity generators that will link 195 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Don Sahong Dam in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) to Cambodia’s national grid.


Border gate between Lao PDR and Viet Nam in Lao Bao (ADB Photo)

Lao PDR, Viet Nam Plan to Open New International Borders

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Viet Nam plan to upgrade two local border crossing points to international border crossings this year. The plan was announced during the 29th annual border meeting of the two neighboring countries on 26 December 2019 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. 

The Dak Ta-Ok (Lao PDR)–Nam Giang (Viet Nam) between Xekong (Lao PDR) and Quang Nam (Viet Nam) provinces will be the first international crossing point in Xekong. The neighboring countries plan to open this upgraded international border crossing in the first quarter of 2020.



Regional Workshop: Strengthening Risk Communications for Health Emergencies in the GMS

Regional Workshop: Strengthening Risk Communications for Health Emergencies in the GMS

The Department of Communicable Disease Control of the Ministry of Health of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) conducted a Regional Workshop on Strengthening Risk Communications for Health Emergencies in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) on 12 to 13 September 2019 in Xieng Kouang Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic (under L3465/G0516-LAO: GMS Health Security Project).


Identifying Strategies and Policies to Improve Health Services’ Access and Availability for Ethnic Groups and Vulnerable Populations in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Identifying Strategies and Policies to Improve Health Services’ Access and Availability for Ethnic Groups and Vulnerable Populations in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) conducted a Regional Workshop on Identifying Strategies and Policies to Improve Health Services’ Access and Availability for Ethnic Groups and Vulnerable Populations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) on 12–13 December 2019 in the Don Chan Palace Hotel, Vientiane.



The Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway is an integral section of the eastern link of the GMS Northern Economic Corridor, connecting Kunming in Yunnan province of the PRC with Hanoi, and Hai Phong and Cai Lan ports in Viet Nam. Photo by ADB.

Lao Cai, Viet Nam as an Investment Spotlight 

Viet Nam’s Lao Cai province has become a ‘promising destination for foreign investments,’ according to a feature on the Viet Nam Briefing, with its strategic location on the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Northern Economic Corridor and its connectivity to the southwestern region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Key sectors of investment in Lao Cai include construction, tourism, and a


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