A study on the environmental and social impact of a Mekong hydropower dam to be constructed in Xayaboury province has been completed, while the Lao government, investors, and all stakeholders are continuing impact assessments. Representatives of the Water Resource and Environment Agency (WREA), project operators, Xayboury provincial authorizes, stakeholder representatives and other involved organizations met in the province yesterday to discuss the report. The 1.280 megawatt capacity, 280-metre high dam will be constructed as a flooding dike (without reservoir) on the Mekong River in the area of Xayaboury province’s Houaysoui village and Luang Prabang’s Pakneun village. According to the study, the dam construction will have little social and environmental impact. The report concludes that possible effects such as change in water flow upstream and in the Mekong tributaries, water quality reduction during the construction period, riverbank erosion downstream, and negative impacts on fisheries and fish habitats will be minimal.
Source: Vientiane Times
