Southeast Asia Regional Economic Corridor and Connectivity Project

The development objective of Southeast Asia Regional Economic Corridor and Connectivity Project for Laos is to improve regional and domestic trade and climate resilient transport connectivity along an East-West corridor in Southeast Asia, and to provide immediate and effective response in case of an eligible crisis or emergency. This project has five components. 1) The first component, Lao PDR and Regional connectivity enhancement, has the following sub-components: (i) National Road No. 2 West (NR2W) climate resilient improvement and maintenance; (ii) Local Road climate resilient improvement and maintenance; (iii) Improvement of the border crossing facilities; and (iv) Implementation and supervision support. 2) The second component, Logistics services development and border-crossing management, has the following sub-components: (i) Logistics facilities development; (ii) Regional integration and cross-border transport agreements; and (iii) Strengthening capacity of Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) and Border Management. 3) The third component, Strengthening institutional capacity and regulatory framework in agriculture, transport, and investments planning, has the following sub-components: (i) Support on agricultural trade and SPS Management; and (ii) Institutional capacity development for transport sector. 4) The fourth component, Project Management, will provide technical and operational assistance for strengthening the environmental and social (E&S) capacity of agencies concerned at national and local levels, the day-to-day management, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the project; digitized tools to support business processes and M&E; and the carrying out of technical and financial audits.