Thailand and Laos are due to sign a new power purchase agreement, under which Laos is to supply Thailand electricity generated by five new projects - four hydro-power and one lignite - as part of a larger accord to sell to Thailand an additional 5,000 megawatts of electricity beginning in 2015.
Besides Thailand, Laos has also agreed to sell electricity to two other neighbors, Vietnam and Kampuchea, a total of some 3,000 megawatts starting the same year.
So Laos is scrambling to lure foreign investors to invest in its energy sector, hoping to build as many as 29 power projects with a capacity of over 9,000 megawatts, so that it has enough to sell to its neighbors and meet its domestic demand which is expected to rise at an annual rate of 12%.
Listen to our report for more details in Lao.