Thailand
Laos: Freight, passenger transport plummets during Covid outbreak
Freight and passenger transport of all types has dramatically declined and failed to meet targets in recent years because the Covid-19 outbreak has paralysed transportation, an official report has revealed.
The government has imposed several lockdowns and widespread travel restrictions since the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020. The number of people travelling by air fell from 3,380,000 in 2018 to just 872,000 in 2021, according to the report from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Meanwhile, freight transport by air dropped from 6,300 tonnes in 2018 to just 1,300 tonnes in 2021.
Although the number of people using land transport increased slightly, numbers failed to meet targets.
Passenger transport by land routes increased from 72,400,000 people in 2018 to 83,217,000 in 2021, but this was well below the target figure of 99,000,000 people.
Similarly, the amount of freight transport by land rose from 6,012,000 tonnes in 2018 to just 6,933,000 tonnes in 2021, falling short of the target of 7,024,000 tonnes.
Transport by water also declined, for both passengers and freight. Only 978,000 people made trips by water in 2021. This was far short of the target figure of at least 5 million and significantly down on the more than 4 million passengers recorded as travelling in 2018.
Freight transport on waterways dropped from more than 2 million tonnes in 2018 to just 304,000 tonnes in 2021, falling far short of the plan of at least 4.3 million tonnes. Transport on the Laos-Thailand Railway was also severely impacted by the pandemic, according to the report. Only 700 people made trips on the railway in 2021, which was well below the planned figure of 10,000 passengers, and a sharp drop from the 32,300 people who used the railway in 2018.
Meanwhile, no freight was carried on the railway in 2021, unlike 2018 when 400 tonnes of freight was transported.
Passenger and freight transport on the Laos-China Railway was not included in the report as the railway only became operational on December 3, 2021.
It is expected that there will be a surge in all kinds of transport, both passenger and freight, now that lockdowns have ended, travel restrictions have been relaxed, and the government is reopening the country to visitors.
Source: https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten73_freight.php