Last Group of Families Displaced by Laos’ Nam Theun 1 Dam Accept Compensation
More than a hundred families in central Laos’ Bolikhamxay province who were displaced by the Nam Theun 1 dam have decided to accept compensation, putting an end to a standoff that lasted 17 months, sources in Laos told RFA.
Disputes over compensation by displaced villagers have exploded as Laos carries out plans to build dozens of hydropower dams on the Mekong River and its tributaries to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia” by exporting the electricity to neighboring countries.
Nearly 625 families were displaced by the first of two dams on the Nam Theun River, a Mekong tributary, and about 500 families settled compensation claims in March 2019.
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
