NONG KHAI, Jan 29 – Thailand’s northeastern province of Nong Khai, across the Mekong River from the Lao PDR, plans special traffic lanes at the first Thai-Lao Friendship bridge to facilitate the single visa system to be adopted when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is formed in 2015.
Pol Lt-Gen Santi Pensutr, Immigration Police assistant commissioner general visited Nong Khai, chairing a meeting with immigration police in the province bordering Lao.
As a large number of tourists pass this border check point at the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, he stated, new technology must be fully used to prevent crime. Immigration police should prepare for the looming AEC establishment as the number of foreigners crossing the border is likely to double.
Gen Santi cited 2012 statistics noting that about 13,300 people and 2,200 vehicles crossed the border at the first Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge daily on average.
In 2013, the Nong Khai immigration bureau plans to improve facilities with more CCTV camera installation, ASEAN traffic lanes in preparation for the ASEAN single visa system in line with the policy of the Royal Thai Police bureau.
