(Vientiane 6th) The Lao government is considering suspending the approval of all types of new mining projects to better regulate existing mining projects and promote the processing of mineral resources before export, to maximize economic benefits and strengthen the role of mining as a key pillar of the national economy.
Minister to the Prime Minister's Office, Nam Vang Bouakong, pointed out at the National Assembly meeting on Tuesday that the government will focus on supervising and evaluating previously approved projects and urged parliamentarians to support the policy of suspending new mining proposals.
“If project progress is slow, causes serious environmental and social impacts, or overlaps with other projects, it will be revoked,” emphasized Bouakong, who also serves as the Director of the Prime Minister's Office.
He made these remarks at the report meeting for the 2025 second half social and economic development plan held in Vientiane, which prepares for the 9th session of the 9th National Congress (June 9-26).
Bouakong noted that projects that fail to fulfill agreements signed with the government will be issued warnings and must rectify within a specified timeframe, otherwise, their licenses will be revoked.
Vientiane parliamentarian Vali Wisaphong expressed that merely issuing warnings is too lenient, and the government should implement more severe punitive measures.
For projects whose investment permits are revoked, the government will consider allowing other qualified investors to take over operations “on a project-by-project basis.” If multiple companies are interested, new operators will be selected through bidding.
Although most parliamentarians support the government’s proposal to suspend new mining projects, some have also called for exemptions for stone and sand mining projects to cater to the government's current urgent infrastructure development needs.
Bouakong added that the government is expediting the process of turning pilot mining projects into formal projects, which were previously used as a means to increase fiscal revenue and improve financial operations.
He stated that in the future, the government will focus on strengthening the management of mining and processing of minerals, including gold and rare earths, to enhance value-added. “We are accelerating the study of relevant policies to support the construction of mineral processing plants domestically,” Bouakong said.
Minister of Planning and Investment, Pheng Phiphat, presented the draft five-year national social and economic development plan for 2026 to 2030 at the meeting. He noted that the government is encouraging gold processing and coordinating operations with the newly established Gold Bullion Bank. Concurrently, it supports the construction of plants for processing iron ore, potash, NPK fertilizers, bauxite, and alumina.
Minister Pheng stated that with abundant mineral resources and the added value from processing steps, mining will continue to be a key driver of economic growth in Laos over the next five years. The government has set an average economic growth target of 5% per year for this purpose.