VIENTIANE, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Laos is focusing on developing a unique special economic zone model in order to stimulate socio- economic development.

Speaking at an annual conference on special economic zone development and management in Laos' capital of Vientiane recently, Somsavat Lengsavad, Lao Deputy Prime Minister, said Lao autonomous economic regions differ from Chinese and Vietnamese models because the Lao government has allowed private investors to invest in their infrastructure.

Somsavat, who also chairs the National Committee for Special Economic Zones, said Laos faced challenges in developing its own style of special economic zone as it didn't have guidance in the development process and could not learn from neighboring countries.

In response to fears regarding the construction of casinos in special economic zones, Somsavat said the government didn't have a specific policy to build casinos in such areas but had agreed to allow casinos to operate based on prior land concession agreements.

He explained that there are casinos in some special economic zones because zone developers initially received a land concession to develop tourist facilities, before the government decided to upgrade the normal concession area into a special economic zone for administrative purposes.

In February this year, Somsavat announced that the government would not allow more casinos to open in these zones but would focus on the manufacturing industry to produce goods for domestic consumption and export.

Laos' first special economic zone, the state-owned Savan-Seno, was established in the southern province of Savannakhet, with two privately-run zones, Boten and Golden Triangle, also currently operating in the northern provinces of Luang Namtha and Bokeo, respectively.

The government hopes that the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone will increasingly contribute to GDP growth in Savannakhet province, resulting in higher incomes for the local population.

The government has given the go ahead to the development of the Phoukiew Special Economic Zone in Laos' central province of Khammuan, and plans to build more zones in former revolutionary strongholds, aiming to boost investment in remote areas of the nation by offering favorable terms for local and foreign investors to do business.

The soon to be opened third Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge spanning the Mekong River is expected to help spur the development of the special economic zones by boosting transport in the region.

Saysana Fasavath, third Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge Project Coordinator, told Xinhua on Thursday that the construction of the bridge linking Khammuan province to Thailand's northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom is now completed with the official opening ceremony to be held on November 11.

He said construction of the 1,423-meter bridge, which began in May 2009, makes up part of the Asian Development Bank's East-West Corridor Project that envisages a road network from Myanmar passing through Thailand and Laos to central Vietnam.

The Lao government hopes efforts to improve the land route connecting the four countries will help narrow the developmental gap among the ten ASEAN member countries.