During the second ordinary session of the 10th National Assembly, Minister of Public Works and Transport Heklai Sivilay answered lawmakers' questions on the ministry's work in recent months.

Pricing standards for road and bridge construction

The minister said the current formula for setting unit prices for roads and bridges requires data on 162 materials, but the ministry receives figures for only four or five of them from the industry and commerce sector. Fluctuating fuel prices, exchange rates and delayed payments add further risk for contractors, who build that risk into their bids and push project costs up. The ministry plans to work with the relevant sectors to compile complete material data, rank construction companies by grade, and use a state enterprise as a model for implementation.

Local management of road repairs

Under the new policy, local administrations are now responsible for repairing and building roads, with private companies brought in to help. Route 9 has been selected as a pilot project to upgrade the road so it can carry vehicles with an axle load of 11 tons. Toll collection through a dedicated account to pay for maintenance is set to begin in early October 2026.

The 2026 road fund has also been allocated 2,000 billion kip to resurface or repair 5 to 10 kilometers of concrete or asphalt roads in each province.

Overload enforcement

From August 2023 to September 2026, inspectors checked more than 1.48 million trucks and found 110,193 violations. Officials ordered 66,000 tons of excess cargo to be offloaded and collected fines totaling 14.31 billion kip. Drivers must offload the extra weight before they are allowed to continue their journey. Going forward, the government plans to raise fine rates, introduce digital systems for monitoring, and consider hiring an experienced private company to run the weighing stations.

Questions from lawmakers

After the presentation, lawmakers raised further concerns, including a firm timeline for updating urban development plans, measures to stop overloaded trucks from using side roads, and oversight of the quality of the Route 9 repairs. The minister said he had taken all of their comments on board and would provide more detailed information to help build public confidence.