By: The Diplomat, May 11, 2022
Motorists in the Lao capital Vientiane have been forced to queue for hours at petrol stations as a fuel crisis tightens its grip, the latest sign in a brewing economic crisis in the nation of 7 million.
According to a report in the state-run Laotian Times, crisis comes as the country’s COVID-19-hit economy has been buffeted by the impacts of rising global oil prices and a weakening local currency. The resulting fuel shortages have been seen in provincial areas for weeks, but arrived in the capital on Monday afternoon, causing motorists to line up for hours to fill their tanks, snarling traffic along major thoroughfares. According to a report by AFP, petrol stations are limiting customers to a maximum 500,000 kips (around $40) worth of fuel.
