Laos Defends Latest Plans to Dam the Mekong
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.
Zsombor Peter
