The Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF) has provided a $580,000 grant to help facilitate the preparation of the World Bank’s Enhancing Systematic Land Registration Project (ESLRP) in Lao PDR. The project supports the Government of Lao PDR’s efforts to scale up systematic land registration and improve the delivery of land administration services in the central and southern parts of the country.
The KWPF grant funds will support project preparation and digital transformation of the land administration sector by assessing the status and providing recommendations for enhancing (i) the existing ICT infrastructure and land information system; (ii) use of digital technologies in first-time registration and delivery of subsequent land administration services; and (iii) integration of the land administration system into national e-government developments.
Lao PDR’s has experienced rapid economic development since the early 2000s, which is largely driven by the natural resource sector. However, few benefits of this growth have reached the country’s rural areas where poverty still prevails. As one of its strategies to address this development gap, the Government of Lao PDR is focusing on improving land tenure security in the rural areas to remove barriers of future growth, while simultaneously addressing issues of social tension and exclusion.
In the Vision 2030 and 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan, the Government of Lao PDR aims to improve land tenure security for its citizens by issuing 800,000 new land titles by 2025 and completing land registration in key areas. Achieving this target requires significant acceleration of systematic land registration, and digitalization of processes and enhancement of the ICT infrastructure will play a central role in this. The Government is also enhancing the delivery of land administration services and the maintenance of its land registry following first-time registration, which would benefit significantly from digital transformation. Furthermore, land administration systems play an important role in e-government developments globally, and this grant envisions enhanced integration in Lao PDR as well.
The work will be carried out by the ESRLP World Bank Task Team in collaboration with the Department of Land of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Lao PDR.
Last Updated: Aug 04, 2020