The cost of damage to roads from flooding and landslides in Laos has reached almost 700 billion kip, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said on Monday.
The repairs represent about half of the total cost of damages from natural disasters this year.
Director General of the Planning and Cooperation Department Mr Math Sounmala told Vientiane Times yesterday that local authorities have contracted private companies to repair the roads, with payments for the work to be made at a later date.
Another storm is forecast and Mr Math is concerned about further road damage.
Every year, the government spends about 300 billion kip from the Road Maintenance Fund to repair roads across the country, which does not include money used to repair roads affected by natural disasters.
According to a government report, the total cost of damage from storms and monsoons this year has reached 1.39 trillion kip, with roads accounting for 695 billion kip.
The remaining costs were incurred by damage to agriculture, schools, health facilities, tourism sites, and electrical and water supply systems.
The storms, particularly Haima and Nock-Ten, killed 30 people, damaged 323 roads and 42 bridges, and affected more than 429,900 people in 1,790 villages in 96 districts of 12 provinces.
Potholes are a common sight on many roads in Laos including Road No. 13 north and south, which is the main artery that connects all parts of the nation to neighbouring countries.
Another reason that roads become degraded is a lack of proper drainage and overloaded trucks, which suggests that truck weigh stations are essential to reducing these costs.
A government notice six months ago ended the collection of tolls at 29 bridges along the north-south road to address domestic trade barriers. The move has resulted in a loss of about 4 million kip per month for the Road Maintenance Fund.
The government planned to make up for lost revenues by raising fuel prices by 70 kip per litre. However, the price rise has yet to be implemented as the government is waiting for the fuel price to fall to 9,000 kip per litre to minimise the impact on consumers, Mr Math said.
The removal of some bridge tolls may mean the government will need to divert money from other areas of the budget so road repairs can be carried out.
This year, Laos has suffered heavily from flooding and the government agreed at its September monthly meeting that more than 600 billion kip is needed for essential rebuilding.
Roads, schools and hospitals are in need of repair, along with irrigation systems that will need to be functional in the dry season.
