News

The Mekong River is possibly the most important waterway in Southeast Asia. It feeds 60 million people in six countries and there have been long-standing concerns that China is trying to control it. China recently halted plans in March to blast rapids along the river ...

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 ...

Xayaburi Dam has been nine years in the making and the 135-billion-baht project. It was built and financed by Thai companies and banks, has been controversial since inception. The first hydro-power dam on the lower Mekong River began commercial operations in Laos on Tuesday. The opening ...

The first hydropower dam on the lower Mekong River began commercial operations in Laos on Tuesday amid protests from Thai villagers who say the Xayaburi Dam and several others in the works will destroy their livelihoods. The 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam’s debut coincides with parts of the ...

Mekong residents demand transboundary impacts addressed. The first dam built on the Lower Mekong, Xayaburi, has commenced its commercial operation today with a big splash of advertising on almost every newspaper’s wraps in Thailand, convincing the public that it is in harmony with the nature. Its executive, ...

For centuries, Cambodians have looked to Tonle Sap, both a river and a lake, for dinner. But a repast of grilled river fish, sprinkled with salt and stuffed with lemongrass, may soon be a very special event. Today, “there is only water but no fish,” said ...

The water in the Mekong River has fallen to a critical level, recorded at only 1.50 metres on Tuesday, lower than previous years. Sand islands are now exposed along many sections of the waterway. Inadequate rainfall has also left many reservoirs in the province at only ...

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 ...

Political leaders are under constant pressure to introduce new initiatives, because new implies better, and that’s the nature of politics. Even clever repackaging of previous efforts is often not enough. So, it was quite a surprise when, in June 2018, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ...

The Mekong River Commission has urged member countries and stakeholders to urgently step up measures to better manage the Mekong river to protect remaining wetlands and riverine habitats. An Pich Hatda, chief executive officer of the MRC secretariat, said in the MRC State of the Basin ...