Ministry suspends licensing of gas stations, oil warehouses
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced it will temporarily suspend the registration and licensing of currently unregistered gas stations and oil warehouses. New investment proposals on the businesses are also suspended. The move came as the Ministry is taking action to regulate the businesses after learning that many investors have failed to apply and acquire legal documents and licences from the relevant sectors. Their businesses also failed to meet the relevant regulations and standards. Gas stations have mushroomed in some areas and have been placed too close to each other. This fails to meet standards, which require gas stations to be located at least 1,000 metres apart, an official at the ministry’s Domestic Trade Department in charge of the issue told Vientiane Times on April 27. According to the regulations, a gas station must also distance itself from a community, a market, a school, a hospital or a river for safety reasons but many gas stations are located in these prohibited areas.
