Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Laos Defends Latest Plans to Dam the Mekong

Zsombor Peter

   VIENTIANE, LAOS - Laos has dismissed fears that its next hydropower dam
   on the Mekong River would devastate downstream communities after
   neighboring countries and rights groups raised their doubts at a
   regional forum in the capital last week.

   The tiny landlocked country announced its intentions to go ahead with
   the 1,460 MW Luang Prabang dam in July, making it the fifth of nine
   dams it has planned for the waterway to move forward -- and the largest
   yet -- in its bid to become "Asia's battery." The first, the Xayaburi,
   began operating late last month.

   Environmental rights groups are warning that the dams will kill off
   much of the fish stocks millions of people depend on for a living and
   hold back the vital sediment flows the Mekong delta -- Vietnam's rice
   bowl -- needs to rejuvenate. Some of them have urged Laos to cancel its
   latest project.

   Undeterred, Laos officials at last week's forum in Vientiane said the
   government was taking steps to minimize the damage.

   Vithounlabandid Thoummabout, deputy secretary general of the Energy and
   Mines Ministry's energy policy and planning department, said the
   country was drawing on its experience from the Xayaburi, where fish
   passes were working "as expected."

   He said the Luang Prabang would feature two fish locks to help
   migrating species swim upstream as well as a ship lock they could also
   use, and seven "fish friendly" turbines.

   Gates in the dam would also "maintain similar sediment concentration as
   in natural conditions," he added.

   Like many of the country's dams, the Luang Prabang is being built
   mostly by and for Laos' neighbors, in this case Vietnam. The
   state-owned PetroVietnam Power Company holds the largest share, and
   most of the energy it churns out starting 2027 is destined for Vietnam
   and Thailand. Construction is scheduled to start next year.

   Yet even Vietnam, whose stretch of the Mekong runs downstream from
   Laos, has its doubts about the Luang Prabang.

   "As a fisheries expert, I'm still not sure [if] some kinds of fish
   passes work or not. So for me I think there should be more ...
   researching whether it works," said Hoang Van Cuong, of that state-run
   Vietnam Institute of Fisheries, Economics and Planning.

.