The Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project (NRI), financed by ADB under Grant No. 0235-LAO(SF), was designed to improve rural household incomes across four of Laos’s most remote northern provinces — Bokeo, Luang Namtha, Oudomxay, and Phongsaly — through the integrated development of agricultural infrastructure. The project’s central concept was promoting value-added agriculture through a combination of rural infrastructure investment, with physical outputs targeting the rehabilitation of irrigation systems covering a command area of 3,600 hectares and the upgrading of rural access roads. This was complemented by the formation of farmer groups for contract farming, participatory catchment management planning across 20 catchments, and support for agricultural value chains and cash crop extensions. Following the success of the original project, ADB approved Additional Financing (Grant No. 0534-LAO) to expand the programme’s reach within the same four provinces, with four structured outputs focused on enhancing production infrastructure, adopting productivity initiatives, strengthening national and provincial agency capacity, and ensuring efficient project delivery.

LCG participated in joint venture with Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. across both contracts, supplying a notably large share of the team’s technical capacity, international and national staff. Services delivered by the team included preparation of feasibility reports and subproject investment reports (SIRs), Initial Environmental Examinations (IEEs) and Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs); drafting of terms of reference and procurement of national design and construction consultants; review of road and irrigation detailed engineering designs; preparation of quality assurance guidelines for rural infrastructure construction; establishment and training of Water User Groups (WUGs) and Road Maintenance Committees (RMCs); participatory catchment and land use planning; environmental and social monitoring; and promotion of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) techniques and agricultural cash crop extensions. Under the Additional Financing contract (July 2017–December 2023), LCG continued in the same joint venture with Nippon Koei, providing the International Resettlement Specialist and once again supplying all national consultants, with services mirroring and building upon those of the original contract.

Spanning over twelve years of continuous engagement, LCG’s contribution to NRI helped bring improved irrigation and road access to some of the most isolated farming communities in northern Laos, directly supporting increases in agricultural productivity, market connectivity, and household incomes. The project’s integrated approach — linking physical infrastructure with farmer organization, catchment management, and value chain development — set a model for rural development programming in the region. The direct award of the Additional Financing contract to the Nippon Koei–LCG consortium stands as clear recognition by ADB and the Government of the quality and reliability of the team’s delivery over the preceding six years.