Malaysian firm to build dam in Laos on Mekong River tributary

Malaysian firm to build dam in Laos on Mekong River tributary

A Malaysian firm has been granted permission to build a 130-megawatt dam in north-western Laos on a tributary of the Mekong River, state media reports said Monday. Malaysia‘s Asia Pacific Business Lin Snd Bhd Co Ltd (AP Bizlink) last week signed an agreement with Laos‘ Ministry of Planning and Investment to construct the dam in Luang Namtha and Bokeo provinces over the next four years, the Vientiane Times reported.

The 145-meter-tall dam would create a 2,825-square-kilometer catchment area on the Nam Pha River, a tributary of the Mekong, South-East Asia’s longest waterway, which passes through southern China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. No details were provided on the cost of the dam nor the Malaysian firm’s plans for conducting a social-environmental impact study on the project area or on the Mekong.