New Dam Planned in Same District as Xe Pian Xe Namnoi Collapse in Southern Laos

A new dam is set to go up in southern Laos, in the district where two years ago a major dam collapse caused a flood that was described as the country’s worst in decades.

On July 23, 2018, water poured over a saddle dam in Attapeu province’s Sanamxay district at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy (PNPC) hydropower project following heavy rains, inundating 12 villages and killing at least 40 people in Attapeu and neighboring Champassak province.

Now the South Sekong A Dam project is in the planning stages and will begin construction later this year in Sanamxay.

“The company brought in some heavy equipment and a technical team has also been there,” an Attapeu official told RFA’s Lao Service Friday.

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