Laos pushes ahead with plan for third contentious dam on the Mekong

Laos has notified its Southeast Asian neighbours that it’s moving ahead with a third contentious hydro dam on the Mekong River’s mainstream.

The Mekong River Commission, an organisation that groups together Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand for joint management of the river, said in a statement it has received notice from Laos that it will undertake a process of consultation about the Pak Beng dam.

In the previous consultation cases for the Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams, Laos pressed forward with the projects despite vociferous objections from the other countries, scientists and conservationists. It has already begun preparatory work for the 912 megawatt Pak Beng dam in the northern province of Oudomxay.

Critics of the dams say they will damage wild fisheries and a rice bowl delta that support 60 million people in the region. The river basin is already under pressure from dozens of dams already built on Mekong tributaries.