Thailand under pressure to act against the Sanakham dam project
“Water rises so fast and drops so fast because the water doesn’t flow naturally. It has huge impacts on us. It’s hard to catch any fish, and the fish cannot lay eggs,” says Prayoon Saen-ae, 62, head of a local fishermen group in Chiang Khan district, northern Thailand.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) officially began a six-month prior consultation phase for the China-backed Sanakham dam on 30 July. Thai activists find themselves fighting against the hydropower project just two kilometres from the Thai border.
The 684MW project is to be developed by a subsidiary of Datang International Power Generation, a state-owned Chinese power company, and is slated for completion in 2028. With seven planned Mekong mainstream dam projects in Laos, excluding the already operational Xayaburi dam, Sanakham is the sixth Lower Mekong dam to undergo prior consultation.
Ryn Jirenuwat, Tyler Roney
