Thai government urged not to buy power from Laos dam
The Thai government must suspend plans to buy electricity from a dam in Laos, conservationists said on Friday (Jul 26), as water levels along the kingdom’s section of Mekong river plummet to near-record lows.
The Thai-built Xayaburi dam, a few hours from the northern Laos town of Luang Prabang, is set to be completed in October, the latest in a welter of barriers across the waterway.
It has been cloaked in controversy since construction began in 2012, with environmentalists raising alarm about its likely impact on the Mekong’s fish species, ecosystem and water levels.
