News
Laos Has Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 34% Over Ten Years
Laos has announced it has successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent over the last ten years. Prime Minister of Laos, Dr. Phankham Viphavanh, spoke via remote communication at the UN General Assembly in New York last month, saying that Laos had been able to ...
Phayboune Thanabouasy
Countries Have $385 Billion In ‘Hidden Debts’ To China, Study Finds
A new study found under-reported debts of at least $385 billion owed by different countries to China in the past two decades, and that one-third of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative have run into major implementation problems. The hidden debts, which slipped through the ...
Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Most stations on Laos-China Railway now complete
Most of the stations on the Laos-China Railway are now complete ahead of the planned opening of the railway in December. Kasy Station in Vientiane province was the most recent to be completed and was officially unveiled on Sept 27. The station was built by the China ...
Vientiane Times/ANN
Lao villagers still disenfranchised three years after eviction
Villagers who were evicted from their homes in northern Laos to make way for a new hydroelectric dam remain disenfranchised three years on, according to media reports. The villagers relocated from Xayaburi province in 2018 are housed in resettlement towns where they lack enough land and ...
UCA News reporter, Vientiane
Lao Villagers Displaced by Xayaburi Dam Still Lack Farmland, Water
Lao villagers displaced by construction of the Xayaburi Dam, a hydropower project on the Mekong River in northwestern Laos, are struggling to survive in resettlement towns three years after being moved, saying they lack sufficient farmland and water to support themselves, Lao sources say. Construction began ...
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
New Indicative Ending Date Set for Sanakham Dam Consultation
An MRC governance meeting has agreed to a new indicative date to conclude the prior consultation process of the 684-megawatt Sanakham dam. The decision by the MRC Joint Committee means the official six-month prior consultation process that began on 9 September 2019 for the proposed Sanakham ...
Latsamy Phonevilay
Laos pushes into crypto as it authorises mining and trading
Laos has authorised the mining and trading of cryptocurrencies, in a policy shift by the debt-laden south-east Asian nation that positions it to profit from the crackdown on digital currency mining in China. Analysts said the move was a logical step for the landlocked, communist-ruled country ...
John Reed
Singapore to trial import of renewable hydropower from Laos in cross-border power trade deal
The Republic will begin trialling the import of renewable hydropower from Laos via Thailand and Malaysia, following an agreement between Keppel Electric and Electricite Du Laos (EDL) announced on Wednesday (Sept 15). The exclusive framework agreement between the two is part of the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration ...
Goh Yan Han
Laos and China innovate poverty reduction cooperation along Mekong River
Sept. 11 (Xinhua): Along the Mekong River which winds through the mountains in northern and central Laos, the poverty alleviation projects with China aid are solidly advanced there with innovation made. In the steepy mountains and deep valleys of the Mekong River Basin, infrastructure is weak. ...
Laos Pushes Ahead With Large Dam Projects, Despite Uncertainty of Power Purchases
The Lao government is pushing ahead with more hydroelectric dams despite uncertainty about Thailand’s willingness to purchase the electricity they generate, Lao officials and others with knowledge of the situation said. Laos has 78 dams in operation and has signed memorandums of understanding for 246 other ...
Reported and translated by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.