Lao Families Fear Getting Cheated by Developers of New SEZ in Champasak Province

Nearly 150 families in six villages in Khong district of southwestern Laos’ Champasak Province say they do not want to give up their homes and land to a special economic zone planned for their area and that they fear that project developers will not compensate them fairly. The first phase of the Mahanathy Siphandone special economic zone (SEZ) is expected to be built by 2021 and will cover nearly 200 hectares (494 acres) of land throughout the six villages. The project will be expanded to cover nearly 10,000 (24,710 acres) hectares of land in the province.

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