No decision has been made on Lao hydroelectric dam

The Lower Mekong countries today still have not decided the fate of Laos' controversial hydroelectric dam, but will conduct further consultations at the Ministerial level.

Many scientists worry that the Xayaburi dam will impact Mekong fish species. Photo: lugaluda.com.

" Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to decide that the consultation process for the Xayaburi hydropower project will be discussed at the Ministerial level" , the announcement of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) this afternoon said. The MRC is the intergovernmental body of the four lower Mekong countries.

There are still many differences in the views of each country on whether the consultation process has ended.

Xayaburi is the first project in a series of plans to build dams on the mainstream of the Mekong, the big river flowing from China to Myanmar and down to the four countries mentioned above. Under the agreement, any MRC member country that wants to build a dam on the river must go through the process of collecting opinions from its members.

At the meeting, the Lao side said that it was not necessary to expand the consultation process because the Xayaburi project would not have any environmental impact on the countries with the Mekong River flowing through.

" We appreciate all the comments, but we will consider them to answer all concerns, " the MRC announcement quoted Viraphonh Viravong, head of the Lao delegation.

Laos proposed to end the consultation process, emphasizing that the extension of the study would need at least another 6 months and that would not help resolve concerns from all parties.

The Lao representative also said that the Xayaburi dam will comply with the design guidelines of the MRC secretariat and based on international standards, while adding impacts to flow, sediment and quality. water and aquatic life as well as dam safety will be minimized to acceptable levels.

A Thai investigative report said Laos had begun making a road to the area to locate the Xayaburi hydroelectric dam five months ago. Photo: Bangkokpost.

Meanwhile Cambodia believes that more time is needed to inform the project and so that the designer can meet the technological requirements; consultations between member countries and the public.

Thailand said that measures to prevent and mitigate impacts from the Xayaburi Dam should be based on the interests of the people and the environment in the region.

Thailand is also skeptical about the sustainability of the project, emphasizing that the previous consultation time is not enough and needs to be expanded. " We see from any point of view, any concerns need to be reconsidered about the Xayaburi project" , said Jatuporrn Buruspat, director of the Water Resources Agency in an MRC statement.

Vietnam proposed to postpone the construction of the dam for 10 years in order to have more complete research on the impact of dams on the environment and people's lives.

The MRC's statement cited Mr. Le Duc Trung, head of the Vietnamese delegation: "1 0 years is the time required for the riverside governments to conduct more comprehensive and specific studies on possible impacts when construction of Xayaburi dam ".

" Incomplete and incomplete assessments will damage the downstream, especially the Mekong Delta ".

Xayaburi is one of 11 hydropower projects of many countries expected to be located downstream of the mainstream of the Mekong. This project is located entirely in the territory of Laos, nearly 2,000 km from the Mekong Delta. The proposed hydroelectric dam is 810 meters long, 32 meters high, with an expected capacity of 1,260 MW. Most of the output of this $ 3.5 billion project will be sold to Thailand.

Location of hydropower dam projects is expected on the mainstream of the Mekong River.Graphic: Dao Trong Tu.