Resilient and Sustainable Urban Improvement Project

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Project Context

Lao PDR, a landlocked country in the Greater Mekong Subregion, is becoming a key hub for cross-border trade, tourism, and investment. Tourism and urban-based services now account for nearly 40% of GDP and offer opportunities for economic diversification and jobs. In the north, the provinces of Luang Namtha and Oudomxay are strategically located along the Lao–China Railway and regional economic corridors, making them vital gateways for trade and tourism.

Despite this potential, limited capital investment and weak urban services constrain tourism sector growth. Basic services, such as sanitation, solid waste management, and urban roads remains inadequate. Urban infrastructure is also highly exposed to climate risks. Building climate-resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban infrastructure is essential to unlock the provinces’ tourism potential, strengthen livelihoods, and support resilient economic growth.

To address technical, institutional and financial challenges, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is assisting the Lao PDR’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) in initiating the Resilient and Sustainable Urban Improvement Project (RSUIP) to strengthen the urban- and tourism sectors in the two provinces.

Objectives

ICEM is implementing a Technical Assistance (TA) project that will assist the MPWT of Lao PDR to prepare Resilient and Sustainable Urban Improvement Project for future ADB financing and other sources of co-financing.

The investment project will focus on three outputs contributing to urban environmental improvements in Luang Namtha and Oudomxay:

Improved access, quality and coverage of climate-resilient basic urban infrastructure.
Strengthened inclusive, long-term and sustainable provision of urban- and tourism services.
Increased institutional capacity of urban service operators to deliver and maintain climate resilience urban infrastructure and tourism services.

client:

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

LOCATION:

Lao PDR

TIME:

September 2025

to August 2026

Activities

The TA will consist of the following stages and corresponding activities:

Phase 1: Kick-off, situation assessment, and options analysis will focus on reviewing the indicative project scope, reconfirming subproject selection criteria, discussing tourism priorities, and assessing proposed subproject locations. Preliminary baseline information will be collected to support subsequent surveys and due diligence. The stage will also include subprojects prioritization for feasibility assessment.

Phase 2: Baseline analysis and design will include preparation of an integrated tourism and urban sector assessment – which could include urban sanitation, solid waste management, flood protection, and urban roads and bridges – along with stakeholder analysis, technical feasibility studies including first engineering concept designs, poverty, social and gender assessments, climate risk assessment, and institutional capacity assessment.

Phase 3: Due Diligence will focus on assessing environmental and social implications of the project components, preparing a gender action plan, developing detailed project cost estimates and a financing plan, and conducting economic and financial analyses.