Energy

All eyes on Chinese dams as Mekong countries count down to the monsoon

Researchers are worried that Chinese dams will hold back much of the water in the Mekong River this year, similar to last year’s erratic flow after the monsoon which exacerbated the drought in the Northeast of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. China’s dams have recently contributed ...

Mekong is at historical lows

The Mekong is once again at historical lows. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) gauge at Phnom Penh Port shows river level to be four metres below average for this time of year – and lower than last year’s record. This gauge is measuring river level on ...

Mark Hughes

Water wars: Mekong River another front in U.S.-China rivalry

The Mekong River has become a new front in U.S.-China rivalry, environmentalists and officials say, with Beijing overtaking Washington in both spending and influence over downstream countries at the mercy of its control of the river’s waters. It’s a confrontation in which the Trump administration – ...

Kay Johnson, Panu Wongcha-um

Will Vietnam’s new energy policy mark a turning point for coal?

Vietnam’s government faces crucial choices as it draws up a new national energy plan for 2021-2030. Due to be published this summer, the Power Development Plan 8 will provide a vision for power supply up to 2045. Experts are hoping that Vietnam will use the ...

Michael Tatarski

China’s Post-Pandemic Water Woes

Few places have suffered more from the COVID-19 pandemic than southern China, the region where the novel coronavirus was first detected in the city of Wuhan. But it turned out that the pandemic is not the only calamity to befall south China this year. The ...

Scott Moore

Laos weather bureau official dispels Mekong flood concerns

There is no need for immediate public alarm about potential flooding of the Mekong River despite widespread reports of floods in neighbouring countries, especially China, a sector official has confirmed on Monday. The official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Meteorology and Hydrology Department, ...

River dams in China helped alleviate drought along Lancang-Mekong, research finds

China was one of the countries that suffered the most from a severe drought along the Lancang-Mekong River in 2019, hydrology researchers found, in contrast with allegations by some foreign researchers which blamed China for the drought in countries on lower reaches of the river. As ...

Hu Yuwei

Gov’t Statistics Show Mekong Water Levels Are Precariously Low

Government data released on July 17 showed water levels in the Mekong River are lower than at this time last year, on account of poor rainfall along the mainstream in Cambodia, with others pointing to hydropower dams in China and Laos. The Ministry of Water Resources ...

Sun Narin

B1.4bn loan for Myanmar power grids

A concessional loan worth 1.45 billion baht to help Myanmar improve its electricity system has been approved by the government, according to an official. Rachada Dhnadirek, deputy government spokeswoman, on Tuesday said the loan is part of an initiative to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries. The Neighbouring ...

MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

Coal: A burning question

Cambodia and other Asean member states have discussed the future of the coal mining business for the power sector in the region, according to the Cambodia Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME). The Ministry said the discussion was made at the Asean Coal Business Roundtable Dialogue ...

Sorn Sarath

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