Announcing the Lao PDR AMP Public Portal

Development Gateway is proud to announce that the Government of the Lao PDR launched a public portal to its Aid Management Platform (AMP) on 18 November 2013. The Aid Management Platform is a country level aid information management system that allows the Government to record and monitor project level Official Development Assistance information. The AMP Public Portal makes the information in the AMP available to development stakeholders, Laotian citizens, and the general public.

The AMP was fully implemented in Laos in 2011 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). Over the last two years, the Ministry identified and trained individuals from 33 development agencies active in the Lao PDR to supply development finance information. As of November 2013, the AMP accounts for commitment and disbursement level data from approximately 600 aid projects, or $3 Billion in financial commitments across the country. The data suggest Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and Government of Japan represent the three largest partners by financial commitment; while infrastructure, education, and agriculture are the three largest sectors to receive funding.

The Public Portal is a user-friendly extension of the AMP system. Users can search project level information by a host of characteristics including: development partner, region, district, Laos Sector Working Group, MDG, or by keyword search. They can view AMP data in annual, quarterly, and monthly report formats as well as access official semi-annual and annual reports on Foreign Aid assistance published by the Government. Furthermore, the public portal contains several geo-coded maps that display implementation points of a subset of aid projects stored in the AMP. This is an effective visual tool for the Government and citizens of the Lao PDR, and the wider development community, to ensure a more efficient use of resources through better targeting of aid and a reduction in duplication efforts..

The launch of the AMP Public Portal is a strong testament to the Government’s commitment to the aid effectiveness and transparency agenda espoused at the Paris Declaration in 2005 and subsequent high-level forums on aid transparency in 2008 and 2011. It represents the first time ODA information has been made publicly available in Laos. It will only benefit the Government and larger development stakeholder community to concentrate its efforts to graduate Laos from the list of Least Developed Countries by 2020.