The government of Laos has already completed 51 hydro-electric dams, another 46 are under construction. Most of these projects began in the last 10 years, with the government arguing hydropower could lift landlocked Laos out of poverty, notes The Diplomat .
Chinas and Laos' flags at Xayaburi construction site, 25.1.2015
China is involved in roughly half of Laos’ hydropower projects, whether on the main channel of the Mekong River or its tributaries. According to data from International Rivers, Chinese dam projects in Laos include the $2.4 billion Pak Beng dam (to be constructed by China Datang Overseas Investment), a $2 billion seven-dam cascade on the Nam Ou River (under development by Sinohydro Corporation), the Nam Khan 3 hydropower project (also by Sinohydro), and the Nam Beng dam (China Electrical Equipment Corporation).(Source: The Diplomat)
In pictures: Damming Laos' Mekong River (25.4.2013)
After the collapse of XePian-XeNamnoy dam the government of Laos has decided to inspect all Hydropower dams in the country and to suspend any new investment in its hydroelectricity projects so it has time to review a longer-term development strategy and plans. This could be an opportunity to push for other forms of renewable energy – solar and wind – that Laos is well-placed to use, argues Brian Eyler, Director of the Southeast Asia program at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC. Read here.
XePian-XeNamnoy dam break: After saddle dam D broke in July 2018 the flood devastated Sanamxay district in Attapeu province. More than 11 000 people affected, more than 1000 were missing. Laos was confronted with the worst disaster in decades. Analysis, why the dam broke http://treasuresoflaos.blogspot.com/2018/07/xepian-xe-nam-noy-dam-in-laos-collapsed.html.
Lao Power for Thailand: New dams on Bolaven Plateau affect the Dong Hua Sao National Biodiversity Conservation Area. (15.2.2013)
The Pak Beng Hydropower Project: The Pak Beng hydropower project is proposed on the Mekong mainstream in the northern territory of Lao PDR. The run-of-river project with capacity of 912 MW and the average annual generation of 4,775 GWh is expected to produce power for domestic supply and export. The dam is located between the Jinghong hydropower project in China and the Xayaburi hydropower project in Laos. See theesse videos by Mekong River Commission (MRC):
Environmental Impact Assessement, Sep 2015, Download
See presentation of Lancang-Mekong Development Plan - Environmental Study by Jeremy Carew-Reid at MRC International Conference in Siem Reap (2-3 April 2018)
In 2018 Thailand’s EGAT (The Thai Electricity Commission) deferred a decision on signing the power purchase agreement for the Pak Beng dam until the country’s energy development plan was completed. EGAT had originally agreed to buy 90 percent of the electricity from the dam. The Chinese dam-builder Datang Overseas Investment "appears likely to lose its Thai partner EGAT", writes thethirdpole.net (14.6.2018).
The Pak Lay Dam Project: On 13 June, the Government of Laos formally notified the Mekong River Commission (MRC) of its intention to construct the Pak Lay dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River. The notification triggers the Prior Consultation procedure under the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Pak Lay is the fourth Mekong mainstream dam to be submitted for the procedure.
At least 1,000 families from 20-some villages in northwestern Laos’ Xayaburi province will be forced to relocate if the Pak Lay Dam project will be realized, reports rfa.org. The villages that will be affected the most by the dam building are Bane Tha Liev, Bane Pak Tung, Bane Nong Kay, and Bane Hune Ngam.
Sinohydro and CEIEC agreed to construct the Pak Lay hydropower project at Xayaboury and signed a memorandum of understanding in 2007. The project is to be funded by China's Export-Import Bank, through a $1.7 billion loan, this according to china.aiddata.org.
Nam Theun 2 dam: U.S. $1.3 billion Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower dam, constructed in central Laos’ Khammouane province to generate foreign currency through electricity exports to Thailand. The dam is a trans-basin diversion power plant that uses water from the Nam Theun River, a tributary of the Mekong, and releases it into the Xe Bang Fai River, wrires rfa.org. Roughly 6,200 people, mostly ethnic minorities and indigenous people, have been forced to relocate to make way for the project’s reservoir.
The Xayaburi dam: The $3.8 billlion Xayaburi dam with 1,285 MW generation, is scheduled to be completed in 2019. According to geologist Dr. Punya Charusiri of Chulalungkorn University in Bangkok, “The Xayaburi dam poses a potential danger because there are active faults close to the dam site.” He added that construction “should never have started at such a site without further research into its seismic risk.” (Source: The Diplomat)
See more pictures of Xayaburi dam.
Xayaburi Dam and Don Sahong Dam in Mekong River divide Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
Aerial view of Xayaburi Hydropower Project, 15.7.2017
Nam Ou Hydropower Project: The Nam Ou 7 dam is 10% complete and expected to be fully completed by 2020.(19.4.2017)
Rich past, uncertain futures: Khmu community’s memories of living with the Ou River. The Nam Ou 2 Dam is now complete, and nearby communities have been relocated. (19.4.17)
Second phase of 1,156-MW Nam Ou hydro project kicks off in Laos (5.4.2016)
The Impacts of Hydropower Development on Livelihoods of Downstream Communities: Case Studies in Laos. Amphone Sivongxay, Charles Darwin University Darwin, NT Australia. About Nam Ngum dam (June 2015)
Cumulative Impact Assessment of the Nam Ou hydropower cascade (2.3.2016)
Nam Ou 2 launches first energy generator. Nam Ou 2 hydropower plant will have three generators (3.12.2015)
An Eyewitness Report on Involuntary Resettlement Associated with Nam Ou 2 (Hat Kip) (April 2012)
The Nam Ao Dam Collapse: A Preview Of Things To Come? Flash floods after Nam Ao Dam burst in Phasai District. (11.9.2017)
