Laos has deferred construction of a short-cut road from Vientiane to Luang Prabang for four months because of a shortage of asphalt in the country.
The road from Kasy district in Vientiane province to the old royal capital now is expected to open in October, instead of its original schedule of June, Inpong Soukkhavong, the project director, told the Vientiane Times.
The delay was due to the shortage of asphalt needed to seal the surface of the road, he added.
Laos has set aside almost 480 billion kip (1.7 billion baht) for the project, which could halve travel time between the capital and Luang Prabang, the two most popular tourist destinations in the country.
The old capital is 300 kilometres by Road 13 from Vientiane. The trip normally takes about four hours.
The new road will slash 79 kilometres off the distance between the two locations.
This the second time the road has missed a completion deadline. It was originally deferred from January to June of this year, he said.