VIENTIANE, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government is working to fully grow the economy this year against the backdrop of severe flooding that has hit the country, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Friday.

Noting that restoring infrastructure and production and improving the lives of people in flood-affected areas are priorities, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Somdy Duangdy told the Vientiane Times that with strong support and assistance from the government and other parties, the economy is expected to maintain a growth rate of 7 percent.

Even if this target is not met, the growth rate will only dip slightly, he added.

Economists have projected that the reverses faced by the economy due to flooding may not be more than 1 percent.

However, the limited budget may be an obstacle to reviving local economies. This situation is also a challenge for repair and restoration work to ensure the recovery of flood-hit areas and the improvement of living conditions.

Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Kikeo Chanthabouly, said on Wednesday that the money in the disaster prevention fund was insufficient to repair the damage caused by the floods, especially in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province, which had been severely affected by a collapsed dam, some 560 km southeast of the capital Vientiane.

Thirteen villages with 2,717 families and 13,067 people were affected by floods triggered by the collapse of a dam at the Xe-PianXe-Namnoy hydropower project in Attapeu on July 23.

To minimize the challenges, the Ministry of Finance continues to implement existing measures for revenue collection and the removal of loopholes that could lead to the leakage of revenue.

Somdy said the building of infrastructure such as roads needed proper mechanisms for their implementation in line with budget allocations because funds were limited. "Therefore, we need to focus on inspection and austerity," he said. Enditem

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