Laos dam collapse: Mekong River projects move forward despite promise to halt and review
Decision to continue work on two huge dams calls into question how serious the government is about reviewing numerous multibillion-dollar hydropower projects after last month’s disaster
Work on two of the biggest dams on the Mekong River in Laos is going ahead, despite a promise by the government to halt and review all new projects after a deadly dam disaster in July.
The fatal collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric dam saw 5 billion cubic litres of water flood the Attapeu region, washing away entire villages, displacing more than 6,000 people and killing at least 35 people. Hundreds are still missing.
In response, Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith ordered a “national review” of all new hydropower projects, declaring all future dam projects suspended.
However, the day after the review was announced, Laos initiated a six-month regional consultation process for the Pak Lay dam in Xayaburi province, due to be the fourth-biggest hydropower project on the Mekong. It is a significant step forward in the development and eventual construction of the new mega-dam.
The move has called into question how serious the government is about reviewing numerous multibillion-dollar hydropower projects, which are a pivotal part of the poverty-stricken country’s lucrative plans to become the “battery of Asia” and sell power to neighbouring nations such as Thailand. There are 140 proposed dams in Laos, which have already brought billions of dollars of foreign investment into the country from places such as China and South Korea.
Maureen Harris, the Southeast Asia programme director of environmental organisation International Rivers, said the decision to press on with the Pak Lay dam process “does raise questions around the good faith and the seriousness with which the Laos government is implementing its announced suspension of new dams”.