As Laos struggles with a rising fuel shortage, long queues of automobiles have been snaking through the streets of Vientiane in recent days.
According to state television, some regions of the isolated communist nation had been experiencing shortages for weeks, but on Monday, the capital’s pumps ran empty.
Since September, importers have been affected by a collapse in the kip currency, which has been compounded by limited foreign exchange reserves and the skyrocketing price of oil, which has been fueled by the conflict in Ukraine.
Settah Travel’s manager, Dara Khiosompon, told AFP on Tuesday that the company was having trouble filling its tour buses.
“Our driver proceeded to the first station, which had a big line, and the fuel had run out just as we were about to be served. As a result, he travelled to two more stations where there was no fuel. He got our gas at the fourth station, which was just outside of town,” she explained.
Customers are limited to a maximum of 500,000 kips ($40), which buys fewer than 30 litres of petrol, according to her.
While fuel shortages in Vientiane only began this week, the northern city of Luang Namtha ran out in late March, according to the Laotian Times.
Laos need 120 million litres of petroleum per month, but importers can only supply 20 million litres, according to the article.
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According to local media, parliament has voted to reduce gasoline taxes from 31% to 16%, and the country is attempting to acquire inexpensive petroleum from Russia.
Residents are also being encouraged to carpool and take public transportation, with British ambassador John Pearson tweeting that this is “a excellent time to own an electric car.”
The Laos economy has been under strain for some years, according to associate professor Keith Barney of Australian National University.
“It’s not a coincidence… “Every red light was flashing,” he told AFP.
According to the statistics agency, the inflation rate reached 9.9% in April, up from 2% in January 2021.
Laos is drowning in debt for huge infrastructure projects such as hydroelectric dams and the country’s first railway link, which opened last year.
Debt has risen to a staggering $13.3 billion, accounting for over three-quarters of GDP.
Moody’s lowered the country’s credit rating to junk status in August 2020, followed by Fitch, making it more difficult for the government to get loans.
On Monday, the government reopened borders to fully vaccinated passengers, removing quarantine and other entrance restrictions in an attempt to entice international tourists back.
