Projects should facilitate private sector participation and have strong focus on capacity
building of public and private operators, and government at subnational levels. An ADB sector
study was commissioned in 2010 on private sector readiness in the urban water supply sector in
the Lao PDR. The study indicated that while the urban water supply sector in the Lao PDR is
not fully geared toward implementing public–private partnership projects on a large scale, it has in place the basic framework required for initiating the process of engaging with the private
sector. The government still needs to address certain key action areas that would work toward
creating an enabling and conducive environment for catalyzing private investment in the sector.