Energy
‘Commissions’ Required of Companies Bidding for Building Work in Flood-hit Lao Province
Construction firms bidding for approval to build permanent homes for flood victims in Laos must pay between 10 to 26 percent of the total cost of the project to local authorities if their bids are approved, sources in the country say. Government officials in Attapeu ...
Can Laos afford to be the ‘Battery of Asia’?
The debate over Laos’ strategy to become the “Battery of Asia” continues months after the deadly disaster at the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower dam, even as the Lao government keeps building more dams. Despite the previous government’s decision to suspend new dam projects and academics’ concerns ...
Delayed dam project awaits resolution in Myanmar
Though Myanmar officials have expressed their appreciation for the benefits of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese analysts noted that more practical outcomes should be delivered apart from optimistic plans, as some BRI projects still face uncertainty in the Southeast Asian country. A positive ...
Pak Beng Hydro Dam in Laos Meets New Resistance From Mekong River Advocates
An Environmental group in Chiang Rai has renewed its campaign against the controversial Pak Beng dam that is due to be built on the transnational Mekong River by lodging a complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court against Thai authorities for failing to provide local communities ...
Compensation talks begin for Lao dam disaster victims
LAO AUTHORITIES say negotiations have begun over compensation for the victims of last summer’s Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy Dam collapse, but environmental activists and rights campaigners want the dam’s backers to do more than just pay out money – they should help restore their livelihoods, ...
Thousands of Protesters Call For Termination of Dam Project in Myanmar’s Kachin State
About 10,000 people in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state staged a massive protest Thursday against the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam and recent calls by China for the suspended project to resume. Kachin activists, leaders from Kachin political parties, religious leaders, local civil society groups, Buddhist monks, ...
Are Cambodia’s hydropower plans risky?
Along with most Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia’s electricity consumption over the past decade has skyrocketed. In a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), electricity consumption in Cambodia has been growing rapidly, averaging 20 percent growth per annum since 2010. This rate continues to accelerate ...
Myanmar official suggests downsizing or relocation of dam that frayed China ties
A top Myanmar investment official on Tuesday (Jan 29) suggested alternatives such as scaling back or relocating a stalled Chinese-backed dam project that has strained ties between the neighbours. Myanmar angered China in 2011 when its former quasi-civilian government suspended the US$3.6 billion Myitsone hydro-power ...
Victims of Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse in Laos languish in shelters as aid, supplies dry up
Even six months after the collapse of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower dam, which washed away numerous homes in southern Laos, the victims are still having to live in temporary shelters with no certainty about their future. The camp residents are suffering from a severe ...
Kachin parties refute China’s claim of local support for Myitsone Dam
Three ethnic Kachin political parties said on Monday they sought the “permanent suspension” of the multi-billion dollar Myitsone Dam, discrediting a Chinese embassy statement that implied support for the divisive project among the state’s political leaders. Keep reading ...
