ASEANEWS | Paper Edition-Today’s Headline: VIENTIANE- Cultiva groundbreaking ceremony for Lao National Testing Laboratory for medicinal, agriculture and hemp plants

Cultiva groundbreaking ceremony for Lao National Testing Laboratory for medicinal, agriculture and hemp plants

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Cultiva Company Limited and the Institute of Traditional Medicine, Ministry of Health, on Saturday April 2 held a groundbreaking ceremony to start construction of the Lao National Testing Laboratory for Medicinal, Agricultural and Hemp Plants.
The groundbreaking ceremony was officiated by Minister of Health Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysit and deputy ministers, and was attended by the Director of Cultiva,

Mr Phonsavanh Alex Pham, Director General of the Institute of Traditional Medicine, Dr Bounleuane Douangdeuane, and other officials from departments of the Ministry of Health.
The Lao National Testing Laboratory will be built within the compound of the Institute of Traditional Medicine on a site measuring 750 square metres. The floor area of the laboratory will be 14m x 49m and has an estimated land value of US$1.5 million, which was provided by the Institute of Traditional Medicine.
Cultiva will finance the construction of the entire three-storey laboratory and equip it with advanced testing equipment and software applications that meet the international ISO 17025 standard and testing compliance both domestically and internationally, with an estimated investment cost of US$5 million.
The first floor of the laboratory will consist of a working space to be shared between the Institute and Cultiva, a reception area for customers to bring samples for testing, and a visitor centre.
The second and third floors will be fitted with advanced testing equipment and a sample storage area to support the medicinal and agriculture industry in Laos.
Mr Phonsavanh Alex Pham, the Director of Cultiva, said “With our laboratory in place, we will be able to provide the agriculture sector with another key tool in conjunction with the Ministry of Health to help the industry thrive by providing Certificates of Analysis to determine quantities of heavy metals, pesticides, microbials, ash levels and other parameters of testing that will comply with domestic and international laws to help support all future hemp and agricultural cultivators in Laos.”