Energy
Did Korean builder’s corner-cutting lead to Lao dam disaster?
Explosive allegations made by a South Korean lawmaker and detailed in a leading South Korean newspaper point the finger at a leading Korean company as being responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands of homeless in July’s Lao dam collapse.More ...
Andrew Salmon
Water Experts Question World Bank's Role in Laos Dam
BANGKOK — A panel of water experts have warned that the World Bank’s promotion of a major dam in Laos, which they say failed to deliver on basic promises, has fueled the country’s development of shoddy hydropower projects with catastrophic consequences.In July, an auxiliary dam at ...
David Boyle
New questions asked about Laos dam toll, builder’s role
The official death toll given by Vientiane for the dam disaster in southern Laos in July is not credible, according to civil-society groups in Thailand.Premrudee Daoroung, a well-known environmental campaigner who is part of the Laos Dam Investment Monitor, said the official toll of about 40 ...
Jim Pollard
SK E&C’s attempts to cut costs led to design changes that resulted in collapse of dam in Laos
SK E&C attempted to earn excessive profits with changes to the format and design of a dam in Laos that eventually collapsed last July, an internal document confirmed on Oct. 14. Indeed, the heights of the collapsed dam and other auxiliary dams handled by SK ...
Seo Young-ji
Multimillion-dollar assistance for dam collapse victims
Developers of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Hydropower project have extended a multimillion dollar aid to the victims of the dam collapse for relief and recovery operations in Sanamxay, Deputy Prime Minister said this week.The flash floods in Southern Attapeu province were caused by the collapse of ...
Times Reporters
Ratch pushes back start date of Laos dam
The commercial operation date (COD) of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project in Laos is postponed to late 2019 from February because of the collapse of a saddle dam on July 23, says SET-listed Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc (Ratch). More ...
Yuthana Praiwan
Laos Dam Impact Assessment ‘Plagiarized’
VIENTIANE — Parts of an environmental impact assessment for the controversial Pak Lay dam in Laos was copied word for word from an assessment of the equally contentious Pak Beng dam, an advocacy group has claimed.More ...
Hul Reaksmey
NTPC claims environmental, social achievements in hydropower project
Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC) has successfully carried out provisions of its concession agreement relating to a resettlement programme and recommends the closure of the Resettlement Implementation Period under the Nam Theun 2 Multi-Purpose Project, according to its latest International Panel of Experts (POE) ...
Times Reporters
Thailand will be both an importer and a co-distributor of electricity from Laos to Malaysia and Singapore
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister said that Thai government has no means to increase the import of electricity from Laos, but instead to develop transmission lines to Malaysia and Singapore for power distribution.More ...
VOA editor
Laos Accused of Copy-Pasting Dam Impact Survey
VIENTIANE/PHNOM PENH — An official impact assessment for a controversial new Lao dam on the Mekong river has been directly copied and pasted in parts from a previous project, a coalition of groups fighting to protect the river has alleged.More ...
Hul Reaksmey & David Boyle