Laos to Enhance Truck Weighing Stations to Prevent Road Damage

On 26 November, Ngampasong Muangmani, Minister of Public Works and Transport, addressed considerations about street harm attributable to overloaded vehicles whereas highlighting efforts to handle car weight and defend the nation’s infrastructure.

The official emphasised the matter in the course of the eighth Extraordinary Session of the ninth Nationwide Meeting. He famous that Laos beforehand had 39 truck weighbridges. Nonetheless, a 2011 directive from the Prime Minister’s Workplace diminished this quantity to 13, specializing in border crossings and key roads.

This discount has led to elevated street harm on account of insufficient truck weight monitoring.  In response, the ministry has up to date laws and carried out measures to enhance weight administration.

The laws embrace constructing new weigh stations, upgrading current ones, and reopening deserted stations. A mannequin station on Luang Namtha’s Route 3 street has been accomplished, and repairs are deliberate for 17 stations.

Route 3 is a key freeway in northern Laos, connecting China and Thailand. Spanning 197 km, it begins in Luang Namtha, the provincial capital of Luang Namtha Province, Laos. This route hyperlinks to Mohan, China, and the G8511 expressway in China by way of Laos Route 13.

Moreover, the federal government has allotted funds for 20 cellular weighing items to conduct inspections on the transfer.

Public consciousness campaigns are additionally being run to tell truck operators and the general public concerning the results of overloading on roads.

Regardless of these efforts, challenges persist. The variety of weigh stations remains to be too low to watch all routes successfully, in keeping with Ngampasong. Outdated gear and price range limitations additional scale back the accuracy and effectivity of weight checks.

Some transport operators keep away from weigh stations or overload vehicles, notably on routes from mining areas, worsening street harm.

Trying forward, the ministry plans to increase and modernize the weighing system. Quick-term and long-term methods embrace constructing extra weight stations, upgrading present ones, buying extra cellular scales, and linking these efforts to broader street restore tasks.