News

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 Mekong River Commission, member countries and relevant partners yesterday discussed procedures for a technical review of Laos’ planned Luang Prabang hydropower project. About 200 people comprising representatives of member countries Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, civil society, academics, private sector and development partners were in ...

The government estimates that about 3 trillion kip is needed to repair the damage caused by recent flooding and to restore flood-hit communities to normal. The impacts of disasters are a major challenge for Laos in working towards poverty eradication, with many families now lacking housing ...

The government is encouraging the building of environmentally-friendly hydropower plants to ensure green growth and sustainable poverty reduction, according to a senior government official. “The government is highly encouraged to promote environmentally-friendly and sustainable hydropower projects,” Deputy Minister of Natural Resource and Environment, Ms Bounkham Vorachit, ...

The government is accelerating efforts to boost farmers’ yields to meet national food security strategy and production targets by 2020 in response to global climate change. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr Lien Thikeo made the statement during a recent address to mark World Food Day. He ...

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has endorsed a new decree which aims to centralise the administration of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Mr Thongloun signed the Prime Ministerial Decree on the Administration of Official Development Assistance on October 9. The Lao Official Gazette, a website administered by the ...

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng met his Lao and Myanmar counterparts on Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen the protection of migrant workers from each country. Speaking during a two-day technical-level meeting in Siem Reap province, Sar Kheng said after this second round of discussions to ...

The newly-built Xayaburi dam has raised some key concerns about Lao PDR’s hydropower strategy. While hydropower is one of the country’s main exports, Lao PDR still has to import electricity. And although the government says the Xayaburi dam will improve access to electricity for its citizens, ...

LOEI, Thailand: The once-mighty Mekong river has been reduced to a thin, grubby neck of water in stretches of northern Thailand – record lows blamed on drought and a recently completed dam far upstream. The US$4.47 billion Thai-owned Xayaburi hydro-electric power plant went into operation this ...

Boten Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Luang Namtha province is anticipating investment of at least US$10 billion to fully develop the site, according to a zone representative. The zone borders on Bohan in Yunnan province, China, and is part of the rapidly-growing economic cooperation between Laos ...