Laos agrees to tighter scrutiny of second Mekong River dam by neighbours
Laos has agreed to open a proposed hydropower project along the Mekong River to further scrutiny from neighbouring countries, after Vietnam previously called for a delay in developing the dam.
Laos has agreed to open a proposed hydropower project along the Mekong River to further scrutiny from neighbouring countries, after Vietnam previously called for a delay in developing the dam.
"This shows some willingness to work together with other member countries, but I'm not sure if one can read too much into the change in language," said Phuong Nguyen, a research associate at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
"This may be partly an attempt to work with other member countries and partly rhetorical, as long as Laos doesn't have any other significant economic alternatives to dam-building," Nguyen said.
In a 2011 filing on the Xayaburi dam, the first barrage Laos is building on the river, Vietnam said the "limited timeframe of the prior consultation was not adequate to facilitate the achievement of the process' objectives" and asked for the project to be postponed for at least 10 years.
"Upstream hydropower development … will present serious threats to the Mekong Delta, in particular saline intrusion, reduced fisheries and agricultural productivities, and degradation of biodiversity," the 2011 filing said.
Malaysia's Mega First Corporation agreed in 2008 to build and operate Don Sahong and says construction of the dam is expected to start this year and finish in 2019. Vietnam has called for the start of construction to be delayed until at least the end of 2015 and says it will "carefully study" its environmental impact.