Declaration of the People’s Network of Isaan Mekong Basin, Thailand Proposal Concerning the Push for the Constructiion of Sanakham Hydropower Project on the Mekong
Amidst the spreading of the Coronavirus 2019 in every corner of the world, the government in each country, as well as the departments, organizations, and other related parties are vigorously collaborating in solving the problem with a hope of surviving the disaster that is impacting the human race. At the same time, the Lao government, in collaboration with a Chinese power generating state enterprise, took the opportunity during this crisis and quickly pushed forward the Hydropower dams on the Mekong river. The latest project is the Sanakham dam.
On May 11th, 2020, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) revealed to the public that Lao People’s Democratic Republic will start the process of the “Prior Consultation” for the Hydropower Project of Sanakham. This process follows the regulations on prior informing and consulting and the agreement by the MRC, whose members consist of Thailand, Lao, Cambodia, and Vietnam, on initiating a project that will draw the benefit from the Mekong river. The Sanakham Hydropower Project is under the development of Datang Sanakham Hydropower company. The company is a child company of Dantang company, a Chinese power generating state enterprise.
According to the document on the Sanakham project that had been proposed to the MRC, it is stated that the dam is a run-of-the-river dam with the capacity of producing 684 megawatts of electricity. The construction site is in between Xayaburi province and the city of Vientiane, at Sanakham city. The site is only 2 kilometers from Chiang Khan district, Loei province, and 155 kilometers from Vientiane. Lao is hoping to start the project in 2020 and finish the project by 2028. The project is estimated to cost 66 billion baht. A majority of the electricity produced will be sold to Thailand.
