Development of small towns' management models

There are presently 2 agencies in Lao PDR principally responsible for WSS service provision. In urban centres, the Urban Water Supply State Enterprises (known as Nam Papa) are responsible for operating and maintaining constructed utilities on behalf of each province. Overseeing the planning of these services in the urban centres is the Department of Housing and Urban Planning (DHUP) in the Ministry of Communication, Transport, Post and Construction (MCTPC); and in the rural areas the National Centre for Environmental Health and Water Supply (NEW) in the Ministry of Public Health (MoH). The urban and rural WSS sectors have functioned separately in the past.