The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) of the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic has achieved a great deal of institutional success
in the road sector over the past 30 years. The ministry has led the construction
and expansion of the road network and, in turn, dramatically
improved transport times and access to economic opportunities for Lao
households and enterprises. MPWT has generated legitimacy in the eyes
of the Lao people for both itself and the Government of the Lao PDR
writ large, in particular by improving access to markets and public services
across the country and by helping to physically knit the country together.
It has slowly expanded its mandate in the road sector and served as a
crucial incubator of commercial enterprise in the Lao construction sector.
Moreover, the ministry has continued operations through several changes
in leadership and demonstrated resilience in the face of crises.
This chapter examines how and why, in the otherwise challenging context
of a low-income and relatively low-capacity country, MPWT has been
able to achieve these successes. It describes how the core underpinnings
of this institutional success have emerged in the three concentric circles
constituting MPWT’s operating environment: the sociopolitical context in
which MPWT is positioned, MPWT’s more immediate external operational