News

The Faculty of Environmental Sciences at the National University of Laos (NUOL) is reporting substantial progress in its project to build capacity in technical knowledge for environmental impact assessments (EIA).   The project, running from 2018-2020, has been developing EIA training courses and textbooks for government staff, ...

In five days, the Xayaburi Hydropower Project on the Mekong River in northern Laos will formally begin operations. As the first dam on the lower Mekong mainstream, this marks a turning point for the Mekong River. The Mekong River is 4,350 kilometers (2,703 miles) long, ranked ...

The 87th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand started on Tuesday from Jingha Port in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The patrol, expected to last four days and three nights, will involve joint inspections and an anti-drug publicity campaign. The four countries ...

The Boten Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Luang Namtha province hopes to attract more investors, especially in the fields of education and medicine. The education and medical industry zone opening ceremony was held on Friday. It was attended by representatives of the government, foreign investors and ...

With plans for cross-border electricity grids growing in the region, Laos is banking on hydropower exports to earn revenue. But a recent deal to also sell coal power generated in Laos to Cambodia has sparked environmental concerns over this trade. Last month, Cambodia’s state-owned utility firm ...

Environmental rights groups are calling on Laos to cancel the latest hydro-electric dam it has approved for construction across the Mekong River, warning of dire consequences for the millions of people who rely on the waterway for a living. A six-month “prior consultation process” for the ...

All Lao people, including general workers and farmers, who are not government officials or private sector members of the National Social Security Fund will be eligible for benefits under a new scheme. The Fund has announced the establishment of the Voluntary Social Security Project For All ...

The Lao government has entrusted and given the right to the Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade) to conduct a feasibility study on the Laos-Vietnam Railway Project, from Thakhaek district in Khammuan province, Laos, to the Vietnamese border. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, on behalf ...

The first two of five planned large-scale Lao dams on the Mekong river are set to go online before the end of this year, amid controversy over their impact on the environment and people’s livelihoods. The Xayaburi dam in northern Laos will start operations on October ...

In 2017, the Lao government ordered the closure of the country’s Chinese-owned banana farms following reports of pollution and workers falling ill after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Firms already operating in the country were allowed to stay open until their contracts expired. The ban prohibited ...