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DAM-L LS: Laos holds public hearing on Nam Theun 2 (fwd)

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Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 11:26:33 -0800 (PST)
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subject: LS: Laos holds public hearing on Nam Theun 2
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November 22, 2000

Laos Holds Public Hearing On Controversial Dam Project

    BANGKOK (AP)--Laos began a public hearing Wednesday on a proposed major 
hydropower dam, viewed by the government as a keystone of its development 
plans but assailed by activists as environmentally unsound, officials said.

    Deputy Prime Minister Bounyang Vorachith, who is also minister of 
finance, opened the two-day workshop in the capital Vientiane, describing 
the proposed 1,069-megawatt Nam Theun 2 dam as "the highest priority for 
the Lao government."

    The project developer, the Nam Theun 2 Electricity Consortium, is 
presenting a final environmental assessment and management plan in a bid to 
quell fears over the impact the dam could have on biodiversity and local 
communities.

    "The Lao government is very pleased with the study and the proposed 
mitigating actions," Bounyang was quoted as saying in his speech received 
in Bangkok.

    "A new standard has been reached which will minimize negative impacts 
and bring the upmost benefits to Laos," he said.

    Laos, a mountainous country crisscrossed by rivers, has made 
hydroelectric projects the core of its development policy to leave the 
ranks of Least Developed Countries by 2020.

    A major obstacle to the $1.2 billion dam is the World Bank's hesitancy 
to underwrite the project, largely due to environmental concerns.

    The project has also been stalled by the Asian economic crisis, which 
damp the demand for electricity in Thailand, set to be the sole client for 
power from Nam Theun 2.

    Earlier this year, Laos and Thailand agreed on a price for the 
electricity, putting the project back on track.

    The dam site, 250 kilometers east of Vientiane in the central province 
of Khammouane, would be the second on the Theun River, following the 
opening of the 210-megawatt Theun-Hinboun dam in April 1998.

    International environmental groups have assailed the proposed 
development, which would flood a 450-square kilometer area known as the 
Nakai Plateau.

    But NTEC say their mitigation measures would stop destruction of 
forests in the watershed of the river by local people.

    Jean Christophe Delvallet, the NTEC Project Director, said that total 
expenditure earmarked for environmental and social aspects during 
construction amount to about $70 million.

    NTEC consists Electricite de France (F.EDF), Transfield Holdings of 
Australia and two Thai companies, Electricity Generating PCL (H.EGA) and 
Italian-Thai Development PCL (H.ITD). The government of Laos would also 
have equity in the project.

    Last week, the World Commission on Dams published a major report 
critical of large-scale dams, which it said have often led to loss of 
forests, wildlife and aquatic biodiversity.

    An estimated 40 million to 80 million people have been displaced by 
dams worldwide while the livelihoods of many more living downstream were 
affected but not recognized, the report found.

Copyright 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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